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COPYRIGHT DEPOSm 



OUR SECOND BATTALION 



The Accurate and Authentic History 

of the Second Battalion 

111th Infantry 



BY 
GEORGE W. COOPER 

Formerly 
Battalion Sergeant Major 



SECOND BATTALION BOOK COMPANY 

616 Taylor Avenue, Northside 

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 



1\ 510 



COPYRIGHT 1920 

By George W. Cooper 



Press of 

SMITH BROS. CO. INC. 

Pittsburgh, Pa. 

©CU571386 



PREFACE. 

THERE are quite a few of the men who 
'■' foiio-ht in Prance who would like to have a 
record of every little town in which they were 
billeted, of every battle in which they fought, 
of all positions held by them, of the "resting" 
areas occupied by them, as well as the dates of 
each incident. The following pages are a brief 
and accurate account of those details, which 
will be of special interest to the men of the 
Second Battalion, 111th Infantry. To the othv^r 
members of the regiment, it should form a basis 
for calculating just where they were on the 
various dat^s. 

The phrase "Our Second Battalion'^ origi- 
nated from a Daily Intelligence Report issued 
by the Division Intelligence Office the latter 
part of August, 1918, in which it was stated 
that "Our Second Battalion" of the Division 
was holding down a certain sector of the Line 
in the Fismes Sector. No one but the Battalion 
Officers and a few others knew at that time 
that it referred to the Second Battalion, 111th 
Infantry, as the regimental designation was 
inadvertently omitted. 

In addition to a list of the regimental furls 
won by the regiment, citations for decorations, 
casualty list of the regiment, compilation of 
time in action of "Our Second Battalion" in 



IV PREFACE 

the Appendix, a roster containing the names 
of approximately sixteen hundred officers and 
men who served with the Second Battalion in 
France, copies of official reports made by the 
Battalion and Regimental Commanders, as 
well as copies of official citations. Field Orders 
and Letters of Commendation are also included 
in the Appendix. 

This history is short but exact. From it, 
each soldier who fought with the Second Bat- 
talion, or even the regiment, can make his 
own story of his part in the War. The battles 
can be described, perhaps, a little different by 
each one because one could only see his own 
immediate part in them. It is hoped that this 
will give the men of ^^Our Second Battalion," 
and of the regiment, a more definite idea of 
where they were, and, at the same time, give 
to those "Over Here," a little better impression 
of what befell "Our Second Battalion" in 
France. G. W. C. 



FOREWORD. 

A FTER undergoing several months training 
'** on the Mexican Border in 1916, the Eight- 
eenth Pennsylvania Infantry and the Sixth 
Pennsylvania Infantry returned home and 
were mustered out of the Federal Service. The 
Eighteenth was mobilized again on April 12th, 
1917, six days after War was declared, and the 
Sixth was mobilized on July 15th. The Eight- 
eenth reached Camp Hancock, Augusta, 
Georgia, on September 10th, and the Sixth on 
September 14th. Shortly after the whole Divi- 
sion w^as encamped, the reorganization plans 
began to be worked out, and on October 11th, 
the Division was organized as the Twenty- 
eighth (Keystone) Division, with the Eight- 
eenth and Sixth merged and designated as the 
111th Infantry. 

On Saturday, October 13th, the members of 
the old ^^Sixth/' under command of their offi- 
cers, marched from their former regimental 
area to the area occupied by the old "Eight- 
eenth" and were received into their new home 
l)y their comrades in a manner most fitting for 
the occasion. The newly organized regiment 
was now over war strength, both in officers and 
men, and the "weeding out'' process of the 
physically unfit and disqualified was started. 
Meanwhile, the schedule of sixteen weeks in- 
tensive training was carried out. 



n FOREWORD 

By the end of the year, the schedule was 
finished and all looked and yearned for orders 
to go to France. Keen was the disappointment 
when another course of training was inaugu- 
rated, but keener still was the feeling over the 
entire Division when news reached camp of 
the great Spring Drive of 1918 by the Germans. 
It seemed as though the very heart of the Divi- 
sion was touched because it was not in France 
to meet the onslaught. Fortunately, strong 
rumors, apparently originating from official 
sources, of a movement to France within a 
month filled the air and again the men took 
heart. 

On Sunday, April 21st, 1918, the first troops 
left €amp Hancock. On Sunday, April 28th, 
the 111th Infantry started to entrain, "Our 
Second Battalion" leaving on tJie 29th with 
Companies E and F on one train and Com- 
panies G and H on another. 

On Wednesday, May 1st, the Battalion 
reached Camp Upton, Mineola, Long Island, 
New York, and the next few days were busily 
spent in getting the equipment necessary for 
service in France and the turning in of old 
clothes with a view of obtaining new ones. This 
was not accomplished, however, and the old 
clothes had to be reissued. The last touch was 
put on the paper work, the final inspections 
made and the regiment was ready for its trip 
to France. 



CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Into the Billetting Area 1 

II. Preparing for Action 13 

III. Along the Marne 28 

IV. Our First Attack 38 

V. Chateau Thierry 56 

VI. Almost Surrounded ,.. 65 

VII. On the Heels of the Germans 76 

VIII. Fismes 87 

IX. The Line of Resistance 103 

X. Courlandon 112 

XI. Relieved at Last 126 

XII. Into the Argonne 136 

XIII. The Argonne Drive 143 

XIV. The Thiaucourt Sector and End 

of the War 165 




COLONKL WII.l.IAM K. DUN LAP, 

Commaiuler of "Our Second Battulion. 



THE SECOND BATTALION 

ONE HUNDRED AND EJLEVENTH INFANTRY 

TWENTY-EIGHTH DIVISION 

Splendid discipline, Esprit de corps, sterling 
leaders and high type of men made the Second 
Battalion, One Hundred and Eleventh U. S. 
Infantry, one of the most efficient fighting 
units in the American Expeditionary Forces. 

E. C. Shannon, 
Late Colonel, 111th U. S. Infantry. 

May 7th, 1920. 



COLONEL DUNLAP'S GREETINGS 

To the Officers and Men of the Second Battal- 
ion, 111th Infantry : 

I consider it a very great honor and privilege 
to subscribe, at this time, to the patriotism, 
loyalty and aggressiveness of the men who 
made up the rank and file of the Second Bat- 
talion, 111th Infantry, whom I had the honor 
and pleasure of commanding during their oper- 
ations in France until a short, time before the 
signing of the Armistice; for their faithful 
performance of duty and the meeting of every 
demand to which they were called, regardless 
of conditions of fatigue or hunger, and their 
spirit of comradeship and determination 
brought fear to the hearts of the Hun, and by 
their fidelity to their Commanding Officers, 
honor and recognition was brought to their 
organization. 

None of these things can be understood, 
much less appreciated, by any but those who 
have commanded in times such as we have 
experienced, and so it is with the deepest sense 
of comradeship and love I acknowledge to the 
living of my comrades an undying gratitude, 
and to those who gave their lives in the great 
cause, a solemn and holy reverence, firm in the 
belief that their spirit has found the refuge 
sought by all men ; and with the hope that the 
past has strengthened us, the living, in the 
characteristics of clean manhood and citizen- 



ship to the end that when the last Taps have 
sounded for us, we shall have reaped the same 
reward — honor among our fellow men and 
everlasting life. 

I also wish to take this opportunity to ack- 
nowledge our indebtedness to Sergeant Major 
George W. Cooper for the preservation of man- 
uscripts, records of events and official records. 
He has compiled them, together with his own 
writings done while on the field, which makes 
them both of historical value and intense in- 
terest to every officer and man who fought with 
the Battalion. 

I congratulate my comrades of the old Bat- 
talion that it is possible for them to have this 
record and commend Sergeant Major Cooper 
for his worthy and successful effort,. 

I desire at this time to express my personal 
gratitude and appreciation of the gallantry, 
loyalty and untiring work of the officers and 
men of this Battalion, which made for it a 
most enviable record, the result of which was 
the ultimate defeat of the enemy, and by reason 
of these efforts of the officers and men under 
my command, and not of any individual efforts 
of my own, I was ultimately promoted to the 
rank of Colonel. 

W. R. DUNLAP, 

Colonel, 109th Infantry, 

Late Captain and Major, 2nd Battalion, 

111th Infantry. 



DEDICATED 

TO THE. MEMORY OF OUR COMRADES 

WHO HAVE ANSWERED THE 

LAST CALL OF TAPS 



PAL! 

He left me over there one day, 

I knew not whither led, 
The path stretched far before me, 

That stern Duty bade me tread; 
And when I later came again, 

I found that he was dead. 

A ruthless bullet found its mark, 
While my Pal toiled to save 

The lives of those about him, 
Of his other comrades brave. 

They lived, but he, my dear old Pal, 
Was laid into his grave. 

He^s gone, but in the twilight's glow, 
Now War has ceased to be, 

He often steals upon me. 
And in fond memory, 

We tread old trails together, 
While he whispers ^Tal" to me. 

Frederick S. Wertenbach, 
Sergeant^ Company G. 



OUR SECOND BATTALION 



- OUR SECOND BATTALION 

CHAPTER L 

INTO THE BILLETING AREA. 

AFTER we had our inspectionsi Saturday 
•** afternoon, we received orders to pack all 
surplus clothing and equipment in our barrack 
bags and roll our packs for departure. We 
knew then we were going to leave, in all prob- 
ability, that night. Each company collected 
its barrack bags in one place and that w^as the 
last we saw of them until we had crossed the 
ocean. At midnight we formed up in front of 
our barracks and began marching to the train. 
The sky was dark but the weather clear as we 
swung silently out of camp to the station 
where passenger cars awaited us. There was 
not a sufficient number of cars for us, but we 
crowded in every old way. Some of the men 
had even to lie down in the aisles of the train. 
The next morning, Sunday, May fifth, at 
about seven o'clock we reached Hoboken and 
the regiment crossed the Hudson River to New 
York on two ferry boats. They too were over- 
crowded, for there were nearly two thousand 
officers and men on each one. None of us 
could sit down and we felt glad enough for 
space to rest our packs beside us. At about 
eight o'clock the first ferry boat landed at 



2 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

Pier No. 59 of the White Star Line. As soon 
as it was unloaded, the other one tied up to 
the dock and unloaded the rest of the regi- 
ment. Each Company then lined up its men 
on the pier in the order our names appeared 
on the passenger lists. As each name was 
called we answered and proceeded up the gang- 
plank and got checked off on the list. 

It was only a few minutes until everyone 
knew the identity of our ship. It was the large 
liner "Olympic" of the White Star Line and 
we were glad that we were going on a large 
ship, for we knew we could cross the Atlantic 
by ourselves and meet our escort after we got 
into the danger zone. The Red Cross and 
other organizations distributed post cards to 
us, announcing our safe arrival overseas. 
These, of course, were not to be sent until we 
had actually landed. 

By eleven o'clock the troops of our regiment 
were on board and we had been assigned to 
our different places on the ship. General 
William Weigel, Commander of our Brigade, 
and his staff came on board and they were 
followed by two Battalions of the 59th In- 
fantry under command of Major Farrell. At 
two o'clock every man was ordered inside and 
at 2 :15 we heard the grinding of the engines 
below and knew that at last we were started 
on our trip to that land across the sea, which 
we longed so eagerly to reach. After we had 



INTO THE BILLETING AREA 3 

gone down the river a little, we were allowed 
to go out on deck and got there just in time 
for many of us to see the Statue of Liberty for 
the first time. 

The trip was uneventful until Thursday, 
the ninth, when the ship began zigzagging and 
some of the boys commenced to get sick from 
the motion. That was Ascension Day and 
Father Charles C. Conaty, then the Chaplain 
attached to the Brigade, said Mass in the Of- 
ficers' Smoking Room. We thought it was now 
about time for us to pick up our escort and 
ever}^one began stretching his eyes eastward. 
The next day the ship zigzagged more than 
ever and more of the boys got sick. We knew 
that we must be fast approaching the danger 
zone and whilst anxiously on the lookout for 
"subs," I guess we hoped we w^ould not see 
any. 

On Saturday morning, shortly after break- 
fast, we could see some little specks coming 
over the horizon. We knew that we were in 
the danger zone proper now and that our es- 
cort was coming to meet us. The specks 
turned out to be four American destroyers, 
which, after reaching us, kept darting in and 
out all around us, shooting across in front of 
us and then dropping behind and catching up 
again. The ship turned and re-turned so much 
that it was difficult to figure out in what direc- 
tion we were traveling. If a submarine had 



4 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

come near us that day and its periscope had 
come to the surface, it would have been seen 
by at least half the troops on board, because 
both sides of the ship were covered with men 
looking for excitement. That night most of 
the packs were made up with the expectation 
of landing Sunday and more than one man 
remarked that "It would be a hell of a thing 
to be submarined now that we were so close 
to land and had our packs made up." 

A'bout four o'clock next morning, there was 
a crash and then a shot rang out through the 
air, which awakened most every man on board 
the ship. ^^There's some excitement now," we 
all thought and exclaimed, as we jumped up 
and hurriedly pulled on our clothes. In less 
than a minute, there was another shot and Ave 
were sure that we were missing something big. 
We ran through the corridors and up the 
stairs with half our clothes on and the rest 
on our arms, but discovered that we ciould not 
«:o out on deck. When asked what the trouble 
was, the guards replied that we had rammed 
a submarine and that was all they knew. 
iSeeing that we could not go out on deck and 
that there was no more shooting, we went back 
to bed again and once more were awakened at 
seven o'clock by another shot. This turned 
out to be one of our destroyers dropping a 
depth bomb. Whether or not they got a sub- 
marine, we never heard. 



INTO THE BILLETING AREA O 

A member of the crew described the ram- 
ming of tlie submarine by the Olympic, after 
the war was finished, as follows: 

^'Tt was just about tour o'clock when the 
lookout man picked out of the almost total 
darkness, the outline of a lurking submarine, 
which was lying on the surface. Immediately 
after his warning shout, one of the forward 
guns blazed out, and the ship, with her helm 
hard over, spun around like a great racing 
yacht and crashed into the enemy. 

^'The blow was, of course, not a clean one or 
there would have been few survivors from the 
submarine. Judging from the damage on the 
bow of the ship when dry-docked a few day43 
later, the blow cut off one end of the sub- 
marine. The rest drifted past the stern of the 
Olympic and one of the gun crews on the poop 
planted a six inch shell squarely into it. One 
of the destroyers dropped behind and, by the 
light of star shells, picked up 31 survivors, 
three of whom died on the way to port. The 
total crew of the submarine was over GO.^' 

Some time after the Armistice was signed, 
1st Lieut. N. J. Sepp, who had been Adjutant 
of the First Battalion, wrote to Captain 
Hayes, who commanded the Olympic, and re- 
ceived the following reply in the Captain's 
own handwriting: 



6 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

"S. S. Olympic, 
Southampton, March 9, 1919. 
Dear Sir : 

In reply to the above, the position was Lat. 
49° ir/ N., Long. 4° 51' W. The time we 
rammed the German submarine — U-103 — was 
3 :55 A. M., May 12th, 1918. 
Yours very truly, 

(Signed) Bertram F. Hayes." 

The American destroyers were just in the act 
of being relieved by four English destroyers 
when all this occurred. However the Amer- 
ican destroyers picked up the survivors of the 
rammed submarine and took them to England. 

From that time on there was much anxiety 
over the entire ship for more excitement. At 
a quarter to eight the Isle of Wight was 
sighted in the distance and at 11 :30 the en- 
gines stopped and we lay in the harbor of 
Southampton, being unable to dock on account 
of the tide. We had already gained our first 
victory over the Germans. 

The next day (Monday, the 13th) we 
steamed up the harbor and tied up at the pier. 
At about two o'clock the troops began to leave 
the ship, each man grabbing a barrack bag 
of his company and taking it from the deck of 
the ship, where all barrack bags had been 
placed Saturday and Sunday, to a place desig- 
nated on the pier for that purpose. On the 



INTO THE BirZiETING AREA 7 

other side of the pier English trains were wait- 
ing for us, the first one leaving at 2 :30. The 
others followed at regular intervals. That 
night after dark we arrived at Dover, and were 
marched up a steep hill to the English Eest 
Camp No. 3. It was nothing more than an 
old fortress and its hard cement floor was our 
resting place for that night. Fortunately 
there seemed to be enough extra blankets, but 
we were afraid to use them on account of our 
fear of cooties, which we had heard .so much 
of in training camp. However, the coldness of 
the night won over our cootie scare and we 
used the blankets. 

On the following day, Tuesday, the four- 
teenth, a little after eleven o'clock we left the 
"Rest Camp" and, as we wound our way down 
over the steep grade which we had ascended 
the night before, we could see the outline of 
the French coast across the Channel. We 
reached the docks about noon and piled into 
two small transports. There was a sharp cold 
air at the time and those of us who stayed on 
deck wore our overcoats but we were none too 
warm. Every man had to wear a life belt and 
this afforded a little more warmth. When all 
the troops were aboard, we slipped away from 
the docks and started our perilous trip across 
the English Channel. It is only twenty-one 
miles wide but four destroyers, two on either 
side of us, were our protection the whole way. 



8 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

At three-thirty we reached the docks and on 
top of the railroad station beside the docks we 
could read the word "Calais." The first thing 
we saw — ^and this while we were still on the 
transports waiting to get on to land — was a 
military funeral, and as we stepped on the 
soil of France almost every man exclaimed, 
*'And this is France." While we were resting 
along the station waiting for the rest of the 
regiment to form, we saw our first German 
prisoners and also the first wounded soldiers. 
A Red Cross train arrived Avith English sol- 
diers who had been wounded in the March 
Offensive and were now being taken to a hos- 
pital in England. They were carried from the 
train to a hospital ship waiting at the pier. 

Around four o'clock the regiment was as- 
sembled and we marched through the streets 
of Calais for about an hour when we reached 
English Rest Camp No. 6, West. Here fifteen 
men were put into each tent^ — a tent much 
smaller than our squad tent for eight men. 
After supper the barrack bags arrived at the 
end of the camp and each man went down to 
pick his own from the Company pile and bring 
it up to his tent. 

That night — ^our very first night in France 
— we experienced our first air raid. It was 
quite a spectacle to us who had just arrived, 
to see the many different searchlights playing 
the sky in order to locate the German planes 



INTO THE BILLETING AREA 9 

and hearing the anti-aircraft guns firing away 
at random, while the buzz^buzz of the German 
motors could be very distinctly heard. No 
bombs were dropped that night but we ex- 
pected something like that to happen at any 
moment. While the planes were soaring over 
our heads, there was shouting and cheering 
from some of the men, while others watched 
the performance in silence. 

On Wednesday night we were under another 
air raid. This time it was more interesting 
and more exciting. After circling over our 
heads for some few minutes, bombs were 
dropped and so close to us were they dropped 
that the earth shook and shrapnel hit in our 
camp, causing us to put on our helmets. The 
searchlights were unable to find any of the 
planes that night and one of them, after it had 
gone out of range of the anti-aircraft guns, 
turned on its own searchlights and showed its 
position in the air. 

The next day we were "stripped," that is, 
Ave were assembled by our Company Com- 
manders and told what we w^ere up against 
and just what to expect now that we were in 
France. We were further told that we had 
to dispose of our barrack bags and turn in all 
surplus clothing; that we had better go over 
our personal belongings and pick out the pai*- 
ticular articles we w^ould like to carry along 
with us — and that from then on it was a case 



10 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

where every man was going to carry his stuff 
on his back and, ontside of his full equipment, 
it was entirely up to the man himself as to how 
many other things he put in his pack. The 
personal belongings, which we did not take 
along with us, we were to leave in our barrack 
bags and they would be stored away for us. 
The rest of the morning was spent in com- 
plying with these instructions. 

In the afternoon we hiked about four miles 
to have gas masks issued to us and to go 
through the gas drill and gas chamber the 
same as we had done at camp. On the way 
home all our rifles and ammunition were 
turned in and English rifles and ammunition 
issued in their place. In the evening we all 
waited up for the usual visit of the Jerries, as 
we had learned to call the enemy, but this time 
we were disappointed. We waited for our 
aeroplane visitors till after midnight and as 
none appeared we turned in for the night. 

On Friday, the seventeenth, we fell in at 
8:45 and at 9:30 the march to the station 
began. By this time we had taken off our sum- 
mer underwear and put on woolens, as well 
as wool socks. In addition to this, we had our 
overcoats to cany. It was a fine May day and 
we were exceedingly warm by the time we 
reached the station. Here some sandwiches, 
which were to be our dinner and supper, and a 
cup of tea were issued to us. A little after 



INTO THE BILLETING AREA 11 

twelve, the train started and after passing 
through St. Omer, we reached Lumbres at 
2 :30, at which point we detrained and started 
on one of the hardest marches we had ever 
attempted. 

By this time the heat of the sun was terrific 
and this, with, the heavy clothes we wore, along 
with our overcoats and full equipment, made 
the journey all the harder. Man after man 
became exhausted and fell out along the road- 
side. Towards the end we could only mj^ke 
about one thousand feet and later five hundred 
between rests. When we reached the little 
village called Seninghem about six o'clock that 
evening, not more than twenty-five per cent, 
of the regiment was still in line. The re- 
mainder drifted in during all hours of the 
night. Billets were there for us but they were 
so dirty and the weather so clear that we slept 
in the open fields, neither taking the time nor 
trouble to even erect our tents. After dark 
the roar of the big guns on the Line could be 
heard by us but Ave were too tired to pay much 
attention to them and lost no time in lying 
doTMi and falling asleep. 

The next morning we started again at 10 :45 
with the same luggage and equipment. It 
was only a short time when we had to rest 
after marching only a little distance. A'bout 
noon we got an order for the companies to 
pile the packs of their men on separate piles 



12 OUR SECOND BATTAIJON 

as a truck would come along and carry them 
on to our destination. Believed of our packs, 
the rest of the way was easy for us. Around 
three o'clock we reached the village of Haut 
Loquin where Battalion Headquarters and 
Companies E, G and H were put into billets 
and Company F was sent on about three kilo- 
metres to Bas Loquin. Kegimental Headquar- 
ters, with Headquarters Company and Supply 
Company, was stationed at Alquines, the first 
Battalion in Bouvelinghem and the third Bat- 
talion in Journey. Machine Grun Company 
was temporarily detached from the regiment, 
all the Machine Gun units of the Division 
being located in one place. That night after 
dark we could see flashes of light some dis- 
tance away and we learned from the inhabi- 
tants that it was probably an air raid on St. 
Omer, as it was in that direction, and that 
town was bombed quite frequently. 



CHAPTER II. 

PREPARING FOR ACTION. 

CUNDAY was a day of rest. Some of us went 
*^to the little village church and were sur- 
prised and amazed at the sight presented there. 
Practically every woman, young and old, was 
in mourning and the extent to which the grim 
realities of w^ar had touched France was im- 
pressed upon us. 

On Monday the troops rested while some of 
the officers picked out the training area. On 
Tuesday, the Divisional program of training 
was begun. From Haut Loquin the training 
area was nearly two miles away and it was 
a march down one long hill and up another 
before the place was reached. A few sand- 
wiches were issued at breakfast. These, with 
a canteen of water, comprised the noon-day 
meal. We were getting English rations then 
and there was not very much of them, espec- 
ially during the first week. 

The 16th Royal Scots had been in the 
battle at Armentiers and were pretty well 
wiped out there. What was left of them had 
been brought back to this area to be re-organ- 
ized and train our regiment at the same time. 
The Scots were fine fellows and very much 
liked by the men of our regiment. They were 
good fighters, knew the game and did not go 



14 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

about displaying their experience in a boast- 
ful manner. 

When Saturday came, the troops were only 
too glad to have a chance to have a few hours 
to themselves and rest up a little. But that 
morning a very sad occurrence took place in 
our Battalion. Sergeant Edward Agnew of 
Company H had taken sick the earlier part, 
of the week, but it did not appear to be seri- 
ous. On Saturday morning he became sud- 
denly worse and died. It was the first death 
in our Battalion, and in fact, in our regiment, 
since leaving the United States. He was given 
a military funeral on Sunday afternoon and 
buried in the corner of the little village ceme- 
tery at Haut Loquin. A cross with his name, 
rank, company and regiment was erected at 
the top of his grave and an American flag 
and flowers placed upon it. 

Thursday, Decoration Day, w^as declared 
a holiday. Word was received that General 
Pershing would (visit the different areas occu- 
pied by the Division and for that reason no 
man was permitted to go outside of his billet 
unless he had his blouse on. General Pershing 
did not get any farther than our Brigade 
Headquarters that day. In the afternoon, the 
first mail from the States was received and 
there was much joy among the troops. The 
mail that we got was that which had been ad- 
dressed to us at either Camp Hancock or 



PREPARING FOR ACTION 15 

Camp Upton and had been forwarded to us 
across the sea. 

On Friday, the program of training was 
continued. We received our first pay in 
France on Tuesday, June 4th and on account 
of getting paid in francs at the rate of about 
five and one-half francs to a dollar, we received 
quite a numlier of francs and felt real rich. 
On Wednesday night there was an entertain- 
ment held in the open in the square opposite 
the church in Alquines, in which men from 
our regiment and men from the Royal Scots 
participated. There was singing, reciting, 
jigging, dancing, playing of bag-pipes, and 
pieces rendered by our band as well as the 
Scottish band. 

The following Saturday afternoon, the 
eighth, the troops of the regiment marched 
to Alquines, which was about a kilometre 
(five-eighths of a mile) from Haut Loquin, 
and there turned in the English rifles and am- 
munition, we ha\T.ng shot these rifles on the 
rifle range during the week, and drew the U. S. 
rifle Model 1917, and the ammunition for it. 
Orders were received that we would move from 
that area to a French area probably on Sun- 
day, or perhaps Monday, and for that reason 
Captain Dunlap ordered the extra rolls to be 
made up that night. In this extra roll we were 
to put one blanket, overcoat and one pair of 
shoes. The rest of the equipment we were to 



16 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

carry on our backs, while the extra rolls were 
going to be transported by lorries, or trucks. 

At seven o'clock the next morning the orders 
were in and they called for us to move at nine- 
thirty. On account of Company F being so 
far from the rest of the Battalion, it was not at 
Haut Loquin at the appointed time. Captain 
Dunlap directed the Adjutant, Lieut. Dickson, 
to await Company F's arrival and lead them 
on, and endeavor to catch up with the rest of 
the column. 

At exactly nine-thirty, our Battalion, with 
Company G leading, left Haut Loquin, passed 
down over the hill into and through the village 
of Alq nines and then up the steep hill of Har- 
lettes where we joined the rest of our regiment. 
Two companies of the First Battalion had not 
yet arrived so that we were afforded a little 
rest until they came up to us. As Company F 
had failed to overtake us, we moved on without 
them. Leaving Harlettes, we marched through 
Coulomby and Nellies, where Division Head- 
quarters had been located and where General 
Muir and some of his Staff watched us go 
through the town. 

It was almost noon when we went through 
Nellies. The sun in the meantime had gotten 
mighty hot and we were beginning to feel 
weary and hungry. Even Captain Dunlap 
didn't know how long we were to march or 
when we would eat. No arrans^ements had 



PREPARING FOR ACTION 17 

been made for a noon-day meal and it looked 
as though we would not eat until we had fin- 
ished the march. Our schedule of marching 
was: march twenty and rest ten minutes out 
of every half-hour, and this we kei)t up until 
four-thirty that afternoon, when we arrived at 
the village of Bout de la Ville. 

After leaving Nellies, we passed through 
Waudringhem, Driononville, Gloquant, Merck 
St. Martin and then into Bout de la Ville. As 
we were having our ten minutes rest just out- 
side Merck St. Martin, the clouds became dark 
and soon a heavy rain storm broke over our 
heads. Immediately we donned our slickers 
and finished the rest of the journey wearing 
them. At Merck St. Martin, Colonel Shannon 
gave us orders to leave Companies E and F in 
that town and take the other two, G and H, 
up to the next village, which was Bout de la 
Ville. Just as we pulled into Merck St. Mar- 
tin, we met Lieut. Dickson, who had come 
another way with Company F. 

We got our orders about the middle of that 
night for the Battalion to move from Bout de 
la Ville at eleven o'clock. This time we went 
through Fauquembergues and Fruges, where 
the Second Army Headquarters were then 
located and where we saw the most people yet 
in France and a fair number of French 
beauties. We were hoping that we would stop 
just outside this town so that we could get 



18 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

doTVTi to it in the evening, but there was no 
such good luck for us. After leaving Fruges, 
we went through Lugy, Heyecques, and reached 
Beaumetz-les-Aire, where the whole battalion 
was billeted. As might be expected, it had 
commenced to rain before we had finished the 
march, 'but had cleared up again before we 
reached our destination. 

That night we received the orders for the 
following day, which started us off at ten 
o'clock on the third and last day of our hike, 
to meet the train which we were to board and 
then ride for forty-eight hours. Promptly at 
ten, we proceeded on our journey again, pass- 
ing through Lisbourg, Equire, Bergueneuse, 
into and out of Anvin and about a mile further 
went into an open field, which point we reached 
at four o'clock. Here we pitched our tents and 
went into bivouac. There was a little stream 
running alongside of this field where many of 
us took a bath or washed our feet. On our side 
were the First and Second Battalions, and on 
the opposite side was the Third Battalion. 
Beside the stream were some trees and under 
these trees we were ordered a few hours later 
to move our tents in order to escape the aerial 
observation of the enemy. 

The next day, Wednesday the twelfth, we 
ffot another batch of mail but this lot was very 
small. Later in the day a Canadian soldier, 
who had been wounded in the knee, gave us an 



PREPARING FOR x\CTION 19 

exhibition of gymnastics and twisted himself 
into various positions. This, and little baseball 
games which we played in the open field beside 
us, furnished the amusements for the day. 

Thursday, at 9 :30 A. M., we again put our 
packs on our backs and marched into the town 
of Anvin, where the Avhole regiment entrained 
at regular intervals, two companies per train. 
^^Our Second Battalion" moved on two trains, 
the first carrying Companies E and F and Bat- 
talion Headquarters, leaving at noon, and the 
second carrying Companies G and H, left at 2 
o'clock. We had been told that we would ride 
for forty-eight hours and prepared ourselves 
to spend that length of time in our new puU- 
man cars, which were none other than the well- 
known "Chevaux 8, Hommes 40," meaning, of 
course, that either 8 horses or 40 men could be 
put in the box-cars. This particular time it 
was used for the "Hommes," for there were at 
least 40 men in every one of them. 

The next morning we passed through the 
outskirts of Paris about eight -thirty. Just be- 
fore reaching this point. Captain Dunlap re- 
ceived orders that we would detrain at a point 
just east of Paris, where he would receive 
further orders. Every man was ordered to 
roll his pack and be ready to detrain. At nine 
o'clock we reached Le Raincy, a few miles east 
of Paris, and everybody detrained. We had 
carried everything that belonged to the com- 



20 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

panies of our Battalion on this train, includ- 
ing the kitchens, ration limbers, water carts 
and all animals. It took about an hour to 
unload all these and at ten o'clock we started 
through Le Kaincy. 

This was the biggest town we had yet struck 
in Prance and was the only place so far where 
the people seemed tickled at the sight of us. 
They showed their delight by 'bedecking us with 
flowers and presenting us with bread, oranges, 
and even bottles of wine. Every man had at 
least two or three flowers in his buttonhole or 
in his hat. It certainly was a splendid sight 
to see ^'Our Second Battalion,'' one thousand 
strong, marching along those streets with our 
packs and guns and the determined look of 
seasoned veterans, as well as being decorated 
with flowers. 

After leaving Le Raincy, w^e passed through 
Les Pavilions, Boudy, le P'd Aulnay, les Alou- 
ettes, Drancy, Cit out. La Coumeuve, and 
reached Le Bourget about two in the afternoon. 
In this town, which is about six miles North of 
Paris, was the biggest aerodrome in France and 
some of the Motor Mechanics Regiments, which 
were organized at Camp Hancock while we 
were there, were stationed in that place. We 
saw and talked to boys of tho-se regiments who 
had formerly been in our regiment, but who 
had been transferred to the Motor Mechanics. 

We went through Dugny, Garges, Bonneuil, 



PREPARING FOR ACTION 21 

and then into the little village of Vaudherland, 
where we were T3illeted, with the exception of 
Company G, which went to Gouissanville. We 
had taken a roundabout way, but the reason for 
this was that we were to stay in Bonneuil at 
first, but there was not snfficient billetin^ij^ space 
there, so we were sent on over to Vaudherland. 
Almost as soon as we got to Vaudherland and 
were settled, orders were received from Regi- 
mental Headquarters refusing any man per- . 
mission to go to Paris until further authority 
was received. On Saturday, we rested up a 
little and got acquainted with, the village. On 
Sunday, quite a few of the boys began walking 
towards Paris, and most of them reached their 
destination by jumping on a street car at Le 
Bourget and riding the rest of the Avay. Others 
went to St. Denis, just outside of Paris, while 
others didn't get away from the village at all. 
Practically all of those who went to Paris early 
in the morning, returned that night and conse- 
quently were not missed, there being no for- 
mations that day after Reveille. Our band 
gave a concert in the afternoon at Le Thillay, 
where Regimental iHeadquarters, Headquar- 
ters Company, and the Third Battalion had 
estalblished themselves (the First Battalion 
being at Bonneuil ) . Being only ahout twelve 
miles from Paris, quite a few of the inhabitants 
of that city came to these little villages in the 
country for the week end, so that there was 



22 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

a large number of French people at this Con- 
cert, especially young French girls, who seemed 
much pleased with the American soldiers. 

From the top of the hill, up the road albout 
a kilometre from Vaudherland, we could see 
the Eifel Tower in Paris. Looking towards 
the East we could see the top of the hill which 
the Germans held in their advance on Paris 
in 1914. All over the hill nearest Vaudherland 
and down its slope still remained the trenches 
which the French had dug in 1914. They were 
still in good condition, although grass and pop- 
pies were growing in the bottom of them and 
the grass was hanging over the sides. 

On Monday the companies went out on short 
hikes while schedules of training with the 
French were being prepared. The next mom- 
ing, the eighteenth, the training was begun 
again, this time with the 156th French Regi- 
ment. Except for the fact that we had one 
or two men who could speak French, we had 
no interpreter in our Battalion, l)ut through 
the untiring efforts of Sergeant Charles H. 
Reiter of Company H, we were able to receive 
the proper instructions. The training contin- 
ued for the rest of the week. On Friday, there 
was an assimilated Brigade Liaison Movement, 
which started at Roissey-en-France, and on 
Saturday another of the same character except 
that it was a Divisional affair, and we went in 
a different direction. 



PREPARING FOR ACTION 23 

Al)out six o'clock Saturday evening, we 
received a copy of a Memorandum received 
at Regimental Headquarters from Division 
Headquarters, informing us that our Division 
wx>uld move by bus to a new area early the 
next morning. The next morning, Sunday, 
the twenty-third, at 6 :05 A. M., we received 
the written orders directing us to leave for 
our new destination at seven o'clock, but it 
was seven-tliirty before we got on our way. 
It was the first time we were transported by 
trucks (these particular ones being driven by 
Chinamen), and it was quite a novelty to us 
to Ibe speeding along the dusty roads of France 
without any exertion on our part. We went 
through Roissey-en-France, Le Amelot, Meaux, 
Annette, Lagny, Rebais and then into the vil- 
lage of St. Denis-les-Rebais, which we reached 
at four o'clock. 

^^Our Second Battalion" was the first to 
reach the village but before six the whole regi- 
ment was there, the first time we had been all 
together since we were at Calais. The Battal- 
ion was bivouacked on a field on a gradual 
decline. 

Our wagon train, which was composed of 
the kitchens, ration carts and water wagons, 
had started out about the same time we did, 
but, of course, couldn't travel as fast as we 
could. The result was that it took them three 
days to make the trip, whereas it took us only 



24 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

part of one day. However, our rations were 
ready to be issued to us Monday morning, but 
it was up to us to cook them ourselves. On 
Monday morning we lined up with, mess kits 
and each man drew two pieces of steak, six 
potatoes, coffee, sugar, and a loaf of bread for 
each five men. That was to last us for the 
whole day. We drew a similar lot of rations 
Tuesday and late that afternoon the cookers 
and the rest of the wagon train arrived at St. 
Denis-les-Rebais. On this day, the twenty- 
fifth, we received our first large mail from the 
States and practically everyone received quite 
a few letters. The next night we received 
orders to turn in our overcoats and one blanket 
apiece, which we did by piling them in piles 
around the village church, where they were 
picked up by a truck from Division Headquar- 
ters. 

While here, the regiment was trained by its 
own officers, each company going out over the 
hills and roads to any convenient location. On 
Friday, we had an assimilated Division ma- 
neuver in a Southwestern direction through 
Rebais, where Division Headquarters were lo- 
cated. 

Saturday, the twenty-ninth, at 8:30 A. M., 
the whole regiment left St. Denis-les-Rebais, 
the battalions marching in their numerical 
order in a Southeasterly direction. We wound 
down over the long hill into the town of Orly, 




CAPTAIN I.OUI8 H. 1 lEUHNCi. COMPANY K. 

Killed in Action September Itli, 1918. 



ITtEPARING FOR ACTION 25 

where we rested for dinner. After a short rest, 
we started off again and ahout 2.00 o'clock, 
while we were again resting, Colonel Shannon 
and his Adjutant came up to Captain Dunlap 
and told him that he (the Colonel) had just 
sent one platoon from Company A and another 
from B up the line to serve with the French, 
and that he expected it would be only a short 
time until the whole regiment would get a 
chance. He also said that he might be called 
upon to send some more platoons up, in which 
event they would be from our Battalion. He 
said he had chosen A and B Companies be- 
cause they happened to be nearest him and 
they wanted the troops immediately. The pla- 
toon from Company A was in commajid of 
Lieut. Cedric C. Benz and the platoon from 
Company B was in command of Lieut. John 
H. Shenkel. As we learned a few days later, 
these platoons, the first of the regiment, and 
also the first of the division, to see action, 
made a grand attack on Hill 204 near Chateau 
Thierry on July 1st. The Platoon Commanders 
were awarded the Croix de Guerre, as well as 
the Distinguished Service Cross by our own 
Government. Each platoon was decorated 
with the Croix de Guerre as a unit, and several 
members were individually decorated for their 
actions. 

Regimental Headquarters, as well as Head- 
quarters Company, stopped off at Basserville 



26 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

and established themselves there. Our Bat- 
talion turned to the right at this place and 
kept marching, Company F dropping off at one 
large farm house on the right about a mile up 
the road, Company G going into another large 
f ann house on the left about a half mile further, 
and Companies B and H and Battalion Head- 
quarters going almost another mile to the 
Ferme de Lille. At this place Battalion Head- 
quarters was on the second floor of the barn, 
the typewriter, field desk and other property 
being hoisted up by means of a strong rope. 

On Sunday we got orders to send a Captain 
up the line for observation and experience and 
Captain John M. Clarke of Company F was 
chosen. 

On Monday the drilling began again. Enemy 
aeroplanes came over quite frequently during 
the day and guards had to be placed to keep 
a sharp lookout for them. As soon as a plane 
would ;be seen, two blasts of the whistle were 
blown and the troops would be taken under 
cover of trees. After the plane was out of sight, 
one blast of the whistle w^as blown, indicating 
that all was clear. We knew we were pretty 
close to the Line now and after locating our- 
selves on the map, we found that we were about 
fifteen miles Southwest of Chateau-Thierry, 
and we fully expected to be holding down a 
sector in the Front Line around that city in 
a few days. 



PREPARING FOR ACTION 27 

On Monday we got orders to send an officer 
from each Company as well as our Battal- 
ion Supply Officer, up the Line on a mission 
similar to that of Captain Clarke. On Tuesday 
Captain Dunlap was called away and returned 
about five o'clock, when he told us that he had 
been up the Line reconnoitering the position 
which he expected we would take over in a few 
days. He went up to the Line again on Wed- 
nesday. While he was gone we received an- 
other large mail from home. 

The letters could not have arrived at a better 
time, especially the ones from home, for it was 
the day before the Fourth of July and we were 
so near the Line that we were most anxious to 
see action. We could not help think of the 
previous Fourth of July and of how the folks 
back home would celebrate and here we were 
in a ruined farm house just behind the Lines. 
Had we been in the Line we would have felt 
much better. Not a very bright Fourth loomed 
up before us for the next day. For the first 
time nearly everyone thought seriously of what 
we were up against, for we realized how nice 
it would be to be at home the next day and 
also realized that we had some pretty stiff 
work ahead of us before we could ever think 
of returning to our homes. W^ith these thoughts 
in our minds, and feeling half sad and half- 
happy, we turned into our straw bunks, little 
dreaming what the next few hours would bring 
to us. 



CHAPTER III. 

ALONG THE MARNE. 

/^UR dreams of our loved ones at home and 
^ what was just ahead of us were made a 
thing of the past when, at 4:15 A. M., July 
4th, ^^Call to Arms'' was sounded throughout 
the hamlet. In an instant, everyone was up, 
for all knew what that meant. Shoes and 
leggins were hurriedly put on and packs made 
up and rolled. Runners w^ere immediately 
despatched to the other two Companies (F 
and G) of our battalion and we collected all 
our baggage and hoisted it down to the 
ground. It w^as 5:30 before the other two 
companies came along and then, while it was 
still dark, we started our march up to the 
Line. What a wonderful feeling it was the 
first time in and what a contrast to the feeling 
when going in subsequently. Every man was 
jubilant, as was evidenced by the fact that for 
the first few kilometres most of the men were 
singing. Those of us who were not singing 
were joking and laughing, never fearing what 
was before us — knowing only that we were 
going into battle with a light heart but with 
one that was full of courage and determina- 
tion. After we had marched about three kilo- 
metres, orders were given for absolute silence 
and this added more to the solemnitv of our 



ALONG THE MARNE 29 

march. From that time on, silence reigned 
over the entire line of marching troops. 

A little after seven o'clock we reached our 
position, — what was called the Charly-Nogent 
Line of Resistance. The Battalion P. C. (Post 
of Command) was established in a little 
bunch of woods on the top of a hill, at the 
bottom of which ran the Mame River. The 
town of Charlj was on the northern bank and 
the town of Nogent on the southern bank of 
the River. The whole regiment was stretched 
out along the Mame, ^^Our Second Battalion'^ 
being a little west of the Town of Nogent and 
directly across from Charly. This was about 
eight miles behind the Front Line then, and 
as Captain Dunlap told us, it was the Line 
which must be held at all costs in case the 
Germans broke through at Chateau-Thierry, at 
which point it was expected the enemy would 
make an attack at any moment. The Com- 
panies organized their different positions and 
the men busied themselves getting acquainted 
with their new surroundings. The various dis- 
positions were not quite completed w^hen 
orders were received for the Battalion to be 
assembled and ready to move at one o'clock. 

At one o'clock, we left our positions and 
moved into the town of Nogent, where the 
whole regiment was assembling. The entire 
regiment then started to march in an easterly 
direction through the burning hot sun. It was 



30 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

indeed a Fourtli of July never to be forgotten 
by us. We all had pleasant memories of the 
preceding Fourth and we could not but think 
of it as we marched along the dusty roads of 
France, ladened down with our heavy packs 
and perspiration flowing freely from our 
bodies. We had no idea where we were going 
but after three hours' marching we reached 
the Grande Forest, where we went into 
bivouac. 

After we were in the Forest a little while, 
trucks began assembling in the road near us. 
We felt sure that we were going up into the 
Front Line that night in those trucks. The 
cookers caught up with us and a small meal 
was given to all of us. Colonel Shannon was 
called away to Brigade Headquarters, and this 
increased the tension on our nerves. Every- 
one was high-strung, awaiting the orders that 
would send us into action. It was a typical 
camping scene, such as we had all read about 
in the Civil War except for the fact that there 
were no camp fires. Troops were lying all 
around the woods, some were sleeping in their 
tents, worn out by the hard march in the hot 
sun that afternoon, others were gathered to- 
gether singing and joking, and a few others 
were writing letters. Some wrote letters to 
their dear ones at home telling them how we 
were lying just behind the Line with the 
trucks waiting to move us up and all we 



ALONG THE MARNE 31 

needed were the orders which the Colonel had 
gone down to receive. It occurred to some of 
us that somebody would be killed the first 
time in and we wanted to get a farewell letter 
home to the folks. 

The Colonel returned just as it was getting 
dark and he immediately called an Officers' 
meeting. The Orders were here now, Ave all 
thought, and some of us edged around the 
meeting which had to be held in the open, so 
that we might hear what the Colonel was 
saying. We were truly disappointed though 
when we heard that our orders were to remain 
in readiness to move at any minute, but that 
in all probability we would not move until 
the next morning. We knew that we wouldn^t 
go into the Line at that time of the day and 
felt that we had some more useless hiking in 
front of us. But we were tired and had to 
content ourselves by trying to rest a little. 
Most of us didn't bother to unroll our packs 
but just lay down on the ground using our 
packs as pillows and throwing our coats over 
our shoulders for a little warmth. During 
the night it got pretty chilly and a good many 
of us opened our packs and took out our 
blankets and wrapped them around us. 

The next morning we got up at five o'clock, 
had a little breakfast and at six o'clock stai-ted 
on our way back to our billets, disappointed 
and peeved for having done so much (seem- 



32 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

ingly) useless hiking on the Fourth of July, 
when we might have been hack in our hillets 
taking it easy. Daylight was just breaking 
as we started and at nine o'clock we reached 
the Ferme de Lille, where Companies E and 
H and Battalion Headquarters again estab- 
lished themselves while Companies F and G 
went on down the road to their respective 
farm houses. Most of the men immediately 
turned in on their straw and hay and slept 
for a few hours. 

At nine o'clock that night, when practically 
every man was again resting in his bed of 
straw, orders were received to move again. Im- 
mediately the troops were rooted out of their 
peaceful slumbers, packs made up and rolled, 
and at 9 :20 we were on our way again, this time 
headed in a westerly direction for a few kilo- 
metres to Basseville, where we turned off to 
the right in a northerly direction. Our whole 
brigade was on the move and once or twice the 
different columns of troops were mixed up 
and one part of one outfit separated from the 
rest. It was a dark night and much confu- 
sion occurred but we finally got our Battalion 
connected up and proceeded on our way. 
During this march, which was our first; night 
march, we could hear the big shells coming 
through the air and breaking on the sides and 
in back and front of us, but none of them came 
anyways real close to us. 



ALONG THE MARNE 33 

We reached tlie outside of the village of La 
Noue at ahout ten o'clock and were put in 
an orchard and field, where we were to wait 
for further orders. We were not allowed to 
unroll our packs so we just lay down, some 
of us not bothering to take our packs off but 
kept them on our backs in an endeavor to keep 
us warm. It did afford a little warmth at 
first but after a little while it became very un- 
•comfortalble and we managed to get only a- 
little snatch of sleep here and there- By four 
o'clock it was more than chilly and the Ser- 
geant Major got up and started a little fire a 
little ways from the rest of the troops. As soon 
as the little flame was seen, the rest got up and 
everyone started to gather wood. It was no 
time until we had a good fire going and every- 
body was crowding around it. 

That afternoon we got our pay for the 
month of May, it being the first time we drew 
our extra pay for overseas duty. Wlien even- 
ing came, no orders had been received to un- 
roll the packs for we were still waiting for 
orders to move, but a good many packs were 
unrolled and the men were grouped together 
in bunches of two and three, hugging close to- 
gether with their blankets w^rapped around 
them. 

The next morning, which was Sunday, the 
seventh. Father Conaty said Mass in another 
part of the field at nine o'clock, his altar being 



34 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

constructed of a box piled on top of a table, 
which we borrowed from one of the houses 
nearby with a blanket spread on top of it. 
After Father Conaty was through, the Regi- 
mental Chaplain, 1st Lieut. Michael W. Keith, 
conducted Protestant Services in the same 
place, using the box and table, after which we 
returned the table to the house. 

In the afternoon some of us took a walk 
down over the steep hill to the village of 
Pavant, where some of our Engineers were lo- 
cated and where there was a Y. M. C. A., 
where we could purchase some cakes and 
cigarettes. At this time w^ere were just a little 
west of our former position on the Charly- 
Nogent Line of Resistance. Down over the 
hill in the valley ran the Mame River. On 
this afternoon and on the following afternoon 
the majority of us went down over the hill to 
swim and also bathe in the famous Marne 
River. From the orchard in which we were 
lying, we could get a fine view of the river for 
at this place it was curving just a little to the 
north and winding its way through Chateau- 
Thierry. The size of the river was a surprise 
to all of us for we had thought it was very 
wide, Ibut it wasn't more than three hundred 
feet wide, which we swam very easily. It was 
very deep though and difficult for troops to 
cross on pontoon bridges. All along the open 
fields just behind the river, barbed wire was 
stretched which was a curiosity to us. 



ALONG THE MARNE 35 

There was no place here for us to go to a 
stream nearby and wash so we had our first 
experience of using our drinking cups to wash 
in and also for purpose of shaving. Up to this 
time, we had had some conveniences for wash- 
ing and shaving but now we knew we were out 
in the field of action and any way was the 
best way for such things. We also saw some 
aeroplane fights while lying here. It was 
while in this orchard that we got our first issue 
of wrapped leggins, which furnished us with 
quite a bit of amusement and trouble trying 
to learn to wrap them around our legs in a half 
decent manner. 

Ajt 7 :35 Monday night we got orders to take 
up our position on the Charly-Nogent Line 
once again, which w^e did, leaving the orchard 
at 8 :05 and arriving on the crest of the hill at 
9 :20, when the companies went down over the 
hill and took up the positions they had held 
but a few days before. There was not much 
sleep for us that night for we had to have our 
positions organized as soon as possible. 

Tuesday was quiet all day long. Just in 
front of the piece of woods in which Battalion 
Headquarters were located, there was a small 
haystack in which the French had established 
an observation post. It afforded an excellent 
view down through the valley and to the sum- 
mit of the next hill, on which the Front Line 
was stretched. In the evening, it started to 



36 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

rain awfully hard all of a sudden and kept it 
up for some little time. 

The next day a telephonic message was re- 
ceived from Regimental Headquarters that in 
all probability we would move back that night, 
and accordingly plans were made to vacate the 
position, but as night drew on, no further 
orders were received and we prepared our- 
selves to stay another night. In the after- 
noon, a large mail was brought up to the 
woods by our Battalion Mail Corporal, ^Tete'' 
Zulauf, and then sent down to the companies 
by runners. Father Conaty reported that 
afternoon to Captain Dunlap for duty, he 
having been assigned to "Our Second Bat- 
talion'^ that day as our Chaplain. In the 
evening it started to rain violently again. It 
rained all day Thursday, but this did not pre- 
vent "Pete" Zulauf from going back to Regi- 
mental Headquarters to get another batch of 
mail for the Battalion and the runners, in 
turn, were only too glad to distribute it among 
the Companies. 

Frequently during our stay in this position 
we had to adjust our gas masks for the enemy 
sent quite a number of gas shells over at us. 
On Thursday evening, the enemy started to 
shell the town of Charly rather steadily but 
inflicted no casualties on our men. Later in 
the night they started to send gas shells over, 
and especially at about two o'clock Friday 



ALONG THE MARNE 37 

morning, when we kept our masks on a little 
longer than a few minutes. 

On Friday afternoon, one of our Naval Guns 
came up the railroad tracks and went into 
action a little northeast of our position, or 
just a little above Nogent. Part of the main 
railroad line which had been operating be- 
tween Paris and Metz before the war, ran 
along the river in this part of the country and 
on this track they had run this Naval Gun. 
We could just about make out where it was 
from seeing the smoke after the shell was 
fired, and by counting the time between the 
second it was fired and the second the explo- 
sion occurred, we could ascertain the approxi- 
mate distance they were shooting. It took 
seven seconds for the shell to explode after 
firing and, according to the French observers 
in the haystack, the shell travelled about 
twelve kilometres or seven and a half miles. 
After the gun was through firing, it withdrew 
down the track out of danger, leaving the 
country and the troops all around that vicinity 
waiting to receive the counter-firing by the 
enemy, which was bound to come and did come, 
although none of the shells did any damage 
to US. 



CHAPTER IV. 

OUR FIRST ATTACK. 

A FTER the gas attack, some of us were able 
^ to snatch a little sleep and we never 
thought that it would be so long until we 
would have a chance to get another real sleep. 
The day passed by without anything unusual 
happening except receiving orders that we 
would move probably albout ten o'clock that 
night, but instead of that we started at about 
seven-thirty. The batteries located in Nogent 
were putting over a terrific barrage as we 
reached that town and we lost no time in 
getting out of it to escape the firing which 
would naturally be made against it by the 
enemy in an endeavor to locate the batteries. 
Most of our marching that night seemed to be 
uphill and at twelve-thirty, after going a dis- 
tance of eleven kilometres, we reached the 
Grande Tronchet Farm, where Battalion Head- 
quarters were established. When we came to 
a junction of roads about a kilometre from this 
farm, Companies G and H, under command 
of Captain Cain, turned to the right, while the 
rest of the Battalion moved on to the left. 
This position was on the same Line of Resis- 
tance just east of where we had been formerly 
and which had previously been held by the 
112th Infantry. Company E was put in the 



OUR FIRST ATTACK 39 

partly congtni<?ted trenches, as well as part of 
Company F, the remainder of that company 
being in the bams of this house. Companies 
G and H also took up their positions on our 
right, in the vicinity of Le Petit Queue Farm, 
about two kilometres away. 

We thought we were going into a deserted 
house for there was no sign of life around the 
place. There was a table, lounge and some 
chairs in the room which we decided would be 
our Headquarters, as well as the telephone 
which the 112th Infantry had used. In the 
cupboard, clothes were hanging and on top of 
the shelf we discovered a black silk high top 
hat. It had been so long since we had had a 
hat on our heads that we couldn't resist the 
temptation of putting it on and making re- 
marks about it. We went to the next room, 
which w^as the kitchen, and found a fine stove 
and a large table in the center, upon which, 
at least one officer and some of the runners 
slept that night. 

It was a dark night and it was with diffi- 
culty that Company E and part of Company 
F found what was supposed to be the trenches 
in front of and extending to the right of the 
farmhouse. It was so dark where Companies 
G and H were that they could not find the 
trenches and they had to wait until morning 
to reach them. It was after two o'clock when 
the report was received from Captain Cain 



40 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

that his position was organized, but it was 
only organized as far as having the men on 
the "alert'' in the woods. 

Immediately in the rear of the farmhouse 
there was a large 155 gun which kept barking 
away all night long. Just about five miles 
northeast of us, as we learned the next day, 
was Chateau-Thieriy and from our position 
here we could see the flares of the guns as 
they fired all around that City. We were 
getting closer to the Line now and in a few 
days, we felt sure, we would be there. Day- 
light came on with no strange happening 
throughout the night. To our surprise, we 
discovered that an old lady and two men were 
living in the house. They very gladly gave 
the use of their stove and table for the Bat- 
talion Mess. 

This was Sunday, July 14th, the day on 
which both America and France jointly cele- 
brated Bastile Day, and on which, as the whole 
world now knows, at 11:30 P. M., the Ger- 
mans launched their Fifth and Last Offensive 
of the World War. The big gun in back of us 
kept firing away at steady intervals all day 
long and in reply the Germans began to shell 
us and send some gas shells over also. It was 
the first time for us to be really under fire, 
as was well seen by the rooky act of some of 
us of going to the field nearby and lying down 
on our stomachs and watching the shells come 



OUR FIRST ATTACK 41 

over and hit near us, laughing and shouting 
as each one hit. We thought it was fun then 
and the nearer they came to us the more we 
enjoyed it. We often laughed over this foolish 
act of ours in the days that followed. The 
shells hit in this field real close to us and then 
in the rear, getting closer and closer to the 
big gun. Later, some more gas was sent over 
our way and every little while we had to ad- 
just our gas masks. In the afternoon, the big- 
gun let up a little on its firing but when dark- 
ness came it began again and fired worse than 
before. 

At twelve-fifteen Monday morning, the gas 
alarm was sounded and we hurriedly put on 
our masks but we were able to take them off 
in about ten minutes. We could not get any 
sleep on account of the firing that was going 
on in back of us and the shells which were 
hitting around us. At two o'clock, we got 
orders to "prepare to fight at once as the Boche 
are making an attack.'' This was quickly tele- 
phoned to Captain Cain in charge of the two 
companies on our right and had also been 
despatched to the men in the Line in front of 
the farmhouse. Our packs were immediately 
rolled and we were in readiness to move when 
another order came in for us "to be prepared 
to move at any moment." We didn't attempt 
to get any more sleep that night but just sat 
around and rested on our packs while we 



42 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

watched the firing which was going on all 
along the Front just a few mile^ in front of us. 

When daylight came on Monday, we were 
still holding ourselves in readiness to move 
but hadn't moved as yet. Again the shells be- 
gan to hit close to us and often and we noticed 
that there was an awful lot of gas coming over. 
The shells hit closer and closer to us and, 
while we were not enjoying them near as much 
as we had the day before, it was still some- 
what of a novelty to us. But the reality of it 
was brought home to us when all of a sudden 
one of the shells hit in a little building of this 
farmhouse, in which nearly a whole platoon 
of Company F was sheltered. It was a gas 
shell and it inflicted the first casualties of the 
War upon ^^Our Second Battalion." Twenty- 
four men in all had been either gassed or 
wounded by that one shell, four or five of them 
dying later. More than half of the Sergeants 
of Company F were wounded by that one shell, 
including Warren M. Huber (who was later 
commissioned), George Y. Keenan, Lawrence 
E. Moore, Russel H. Sigmund Arthur Clark, 
George H. List, Charles N. Nuss and Corporal 
Fred C. Gault. Reigh A. Marietta of Com- 
pany E, was also gassed. 

Word was later received that Herbert W. 
Best and James Evans, of Company F had 
died shortly after their removal to the hos- 
pital, while Isaac McShane died about a week 



OUR FIRST ATTACK 43 

afterwards and Sergeant William E. Henry 
died about August 14tli. 

That same day at 6:00 P. M., George E. 
Ferguson of Company F, who had been de- 
tailed along with some others from the regi- 
ment to work on constructing trenches and 
erecting barbed wire entanglements in the 
Valley of the Mame with a Company of our 
(103rd) Engineers, was killed by an exploding 
shell while he was in the act of erecting a 
barbed wire entanglement. He was buried 
near Fossoy, with some others who were killed 
at the same time, by a burial detail from the 
103rd Engineers. All this information we re- 
ceived about a week after it had happened. 

At two-thirty in the afternoon, we got fur- 
ther orders to "prepare to move at once" but 
by this time we had started to lose faith in 
these orders and to think that it was all a 
bluff. On the strength of the first orders, we 
had gotten our breakfast about five o^clock that 
morning and the cookers were prepared to 
move as soon as the meal was through, so that 
we were given nothing more to eat the entire 
day. 

A little later in the afternoon we got word 
that we were to move by trucks, boarding them 
about a kilometre away from the farm. In the 
meantime, Captain Dunlap was called away 
and Captain Clarke temporarily assumed com- 
mand of the Battalion. A little after eisrht 



44 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

o'clock, Companies E and F assembled and at 
eighty-thirty, we left the farmhouse and 
marched down the same road we had come up 
two days before until we reached the junction 
of the roads again. Here, Companies G and 
H reported to the Battalion. Trucks were 
lined up all along the road and after getting 
into them, at ten minutes of ten, we started 
on our first trip to the trenches in trucks. We 
knew now that we were going in for sure — 
or at least we felt that way^and a thrill ran 
through our bodies as we speeded along the 
lonely roads behind the Line, batteries firing 
away all around us. At 11 :50, we reached a 
point East of Courboin, and after getting off 
the trucks we lay down along the road for 
about twenty minutes waiting for Captain 
Dunlap. He reached the head of the column 
and ordered us to ''fall in" and the actual 
march to the Line was begun. We marched 
and marched, sometimes almost on the double. 
It was open country and we were going along 
in column of file. 

^'Oas'' was heard coming from the head of 
the troops and at once all gas masks were ad- 
justed, but still there was no let up in the 
pace, while, on the contrary, it seemed to be 
increasing all the time. While going along 
in this hurried manner T\dth our gas masks 
on, one man — Jimmy Grorman of Company E 
— was seen to fall and one of our Doctors — 



OTJE FIRST ATTACK 45 

Captain Clifford H. Arnold — went to him and 
took care of him. It was so dark that we 
could not see a thing ahead of us except the 
dull outline of the man in front and when 
Jimmy Gorman became overcome with the gas, 
the man in back of him lost sight of the man 
who had been in front of Gorman. Still we 
kept going, trying to reach the column which 
had now disappeared. We stumbled into 
ditches, breaks in the road and finally we lo- 
cated the rest of the column. ^^All Clear'' was 
given and we took off our masks and then had 
a short rest. But it Avas getting late and the 
Captain wanted to get us into position before 
daylight, so we started again and there was 
another gas attack. 

At three o'clock we reached the Bois d' 
Aigremont just as it was beginning to get day- 
light. The four companies were taken into 
the woods a little ways, while the Scouts and 
Battalion Headquarters lay down just inside 
the woods. We tried to snatch a little sleep 
but the enemy was shelling around us and 
then it was also raining a little. 

After Captain Dunlap had reported to the 
Commanding Officer of the 30th Infantry, we 
were moved up through the woods into the 
trenches which had been constructed by the 
30th Infantry. While in these trenches, the 
enemy started shelling us again. One shell 
hit on top of the trench where Company G 



46 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

was lying. A piece of the shrapnel hit Hyman 
Tonkowitz of that Company directly in the 
stomach, which caused his death about an hour 
later. While going through the woods, we 
beheld a sight which we will never forget. 
None of us could describe what we saw there 
and no one of us, except those who were actu- 
ally on the ground, can appreciate the ter- 
ribleness and horribleness of it all, and its 
profound and noticeable effect on each indi- 
vidual soldier. It was there that we all de- 
cided that War was all wrong and that we 
didn't want any more of it. 

The sight of our American dead in Khaki 
alone was enough to fill us with sorrow and 
regret, as well as with contempt for and bit- 
terness towards the enemy who had caused so 
many lives to be sacrificed. But the manner 
in which most of the men had been killed made 
us all the more touched and more bitter. One 
man was lying on his back with one hand 
sticking up in the air, while the other was 
clutching his gas mask which he had succeeded 
in getting just to his face. Another man was 
in the act of getting in a dugout when a piece 
of shrapnel had hit him in the back and the 
shrapnel was still sticking in his back. Others 
had parts of their legs and arms blown off. 
iSome still had their hands on their gas masks. 
On others, the masks had been taken from 
the satchels and were hanging loosely on their 



OUE FIRST ATTACK 47 

bodies. A few others were lying dead beside 
their horses and wagons. Around the dress- 
ing station alone, there were at least fifteen 
men who had been fortunate enough to be 
brought that far and then had died. Most of 
them v/ere still l^ang on the stretchers. There 
was one fellow in particular whom most of us 
stopped and looked at for a few moments. He 
was very young — didn't seem to be more than 
eighteen at the most. He had such a boyish 
and innocent looking face and had been 
wounded in the leg. His trousers had been 
cut away and blood was everywhere around 
the first-aid bandage which had been placed 
over his wound. As* each man looked at this 
boy, he had his own thoughts about his own 
mother as well as that boy's mother. We 
passed on and on and everywhere the sight 
was just as bad. Horses were as numerous as 
the men and most of the horses had swollen up 
because of being gassed. Some had been hit 
by shrapnel and their torn flesh was a ghastly 
sight. Packs, blankets and clothing were 
scattered everywhere. The cookers were still 
there, as well as the ration cars loaded with 
rations. We were more than hungry but all 
this food had been gassed and we were not 
allowed to touch it. 

All these men were from the 30th Infantry, 
3rd Division, which had been holding the sector 
along the south bank of the Marne just east 



48 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

of Chateau-Thierry. When the Germans had 
started across the Mame on the early mom 
of the day before, this regiment bore the brunt 
of the attack in that sector and received the 
heaviest casualties. Not more than twenty- 
five to fifty men from each company had es- 
caped being killed or wounded and those who 
were left, were in such nervous condition after 
going through such a trying ordeal that they 
could not control themselves and be fit for 
duty. Greneral Pershing, in his report to the 
Grovemment on the activities of the A. E. F., 
stated that one regiment of the 3rd Division 
wrote an "immemorable" page in history in 
this Fifth and Last Offensive of the Germans, 
andj outside of the men of that regiment them- 
selves who still survived, none knew it any 
better than the men of "Our Second Bat- 
talion," who had been sent in at this cruciajl 
moment, when the attack had not yet been 
finished, to take the places of those of their 
brave comrades who had been called upon to 
make such a heroic stand along the Marne. 

Later, of course, a sight such as was here 
presented was taken as a matter of course, 
all a part of the war game and did not much 
affect us, but for new troops, just having their 
baptism of fire, it was one that might ordi- 
narily break the morale of any bunch of fresh 
troops. Notwithstanding all this, the men of 
"Our Second Battalion" were highly com- 



OUR FIRST ATTACK 49 

mended for upholding their morale in face of 
such heavy casualties upon the regiment they 
were relieving, and proving by the magnificent 
counter-attack in the afternoon of the same 
day that such things as these would not dis- 
courage us, but, on the contrary, would fill 
us with more eagerness, fearlessness and 
courage. It was our first time in action, and 
it was action that was wanted by us, and we 
were glad to be given a chance to pay back the 
enemy for what we had just seen. 

All that day, at half hour intervals, our 
artillery laid down a ten-minute barrage, and 
the enemy, in turn, laid down barrages as 
often. That afternoon, word reached Captain 
Dunlap that the Germans were to make a 
counter-attack at four o'clock. The Germans 
had succeeded in getting across the Mame in 
the sector just in front of where the 30th In- 
fantry had fought so hard, and "Our Second 
Battalion" was ordered to counter-attack from 
its position at the northern edge of these 
woods (Bois d' Aigremont) and clear the en- 
tire sector to the Mame River between a line 
running north and south through Crezancy 
on the right and a line running north and 
south just east of Fossoy on the left. 

The first wave, consisting of Company G 
and two platoons of Company E, under com- 
mand of Captain Arthur L. Schlosser, went 
over the top at two o'clock, and advanced 



50 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

through the wheat field which was immedi- 
ately in front of the woods. The enemy put 
over an intense barrage on the attacking lines 
but still the steady advance was made. Ger- 
man aeroplanes flew close to the gi'ound and 
as soon as they saw some of the wheat moving 
they hurried back to their artillery and gave 
them the approximate location of the line and 
then the range of guns would be changed and 
a fresh fire from the guns would get more 
accurate all the time. The first objective was 
the Paris-Metz Road, which was to be reached 
at 4 P. M. One platoon of Company G, under 
command of Sergeant Frank E. Andrea (who 
was later wounded on July 24th and died the 
following day), proceeded along a ravine run- 
ning in a northeasterly direction toward Cre- 
zancy. The mission of that platoon was to 
clear Crezancy of the enemy and hold the 
town, which was accomplished and a position 
taken up along the railroad east of Crezancy. 
When Sergeant Andrea and his platoon 
reached the town of Crezancy, after advancing 
through the heavy barrage, they saw two 
American ambulances on one of the streets 
with wounded Americans in them, including 
one doctor. As Sergeant Andrea and his men 
got closer and closer to the ambulances, they 
had a stiff skirmish with some of the German 
troops who had captured the ambulances. The 
men kept advancing and in a ^hort time the 



OUR FIRST ATTACK 51 

Germans were driven out of the town, the am- 
buhmces recaptured and driven back to a first- 
aid station, Sergeant Andrea driving one of 
them himself. 

At four o'clock, our artillery laid down an 
intense creeping barrage, under cover of which 
the first wave crossed over the Paris-Metz 
Road north, and cleared the woods to the rail- 
road where positions were taken up. One 
platoon advanced to a point forward where the 
entire Mame River could be observed. They 
remained there until dark, when combat pa- 
trols moved forward covering Mezy and the 
entire south bank of the River to the dam 
crossing the Ma me River. 

The supporting troops consisted of the two 
remaining platoons of Company E, Company 
F and Company H. These companies were 
also subjected to the enemy barrages, and al- 
though many men w^ere w^ounded in this en- 
gagement, only a few men were killed — Pete 
Mike of Company H was killed with overhead 
shrapnel and Corporal Howard H. Lutz of 
Company E was killed instantly by being hit 
with a piece of shell. When the objectives were 
reached, these supporting troops remained 
under cover in the woods 500 yards South of 
the railroad and entrenched there. Liasion 
was established with the 7th Infantry on our 
left and by patrols from Crezancy with the 
38th Infantry on our right rear. Strong com- 



52 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

bat patrols were maintained between Crezaney 
and Mezy, protecting our right flank. 

All during the attack, Lieut. Richard H. 
O'Brien, who was then the Scout Officer, and 
Sergeant Charles Reiter of Company H, ad- 
vanced with Captain Dunlap, maintaining 
liaison with the advancing troops and sending 
messages to the rear. Harold S. Gilham of 
Company H, Reid Grilman of Company E, and 
Charles A. Piintz of Company F, especially 
distinguished themselves by carrying messages 
through the barrages and safely delivering 
them. Lieut. O'Brien was hit in the left arm 
with a piece of shrapnel and had to be evacu- 
ated to the hospital. 

The following men from Company E were 
gassed : Sergeant Floyd C. Johnston, Sergeant 
William B. Frederick, Corporal George T. Co- 
hee, Raymond Conrader, Gustav J. Blume and 
Sergeant Robert R. Tupper. Sergeant Thomas 
F. Kelly was hit in the stomach and Raymond 
D. Heaton had his heel blown off. Martin F. 
Acton and Earl T. Williams were also 
wounded. Neil Ferguson and William Smith 
of Company F were also wounded. 

Bugler Robert G. Capes of Company G was 
gassed so badly that he did not return to the 
regiment until long after the war was over. 
Other men from this Company who were 
wounded were Rubin Stein, Louis W. Boss, 



OUR FIRST ATTACK 53 

Luigi Bermahei, James Dargenezio, Walter 
Harvey and Albert Fries. 

In the evening, Father Conaty went for- 
ward to gather up and administer to the 
wounded of the 30th, 38th and 7th Infantries, 
who had been lying in that forward position 
since Sunday night, when they had met the 
onslaught of the German forces. Although 
the enemy continued to send shells over all 
night long, Father Conaty kept on with his 
work and after evacuating all the wounded he 
could find, he started on the task of burying 
the dead. He continued at this work each 
night until the whole position was cleared of 
wounded and dead, and for his work the first 
night and the following nights, he was rec- 
ommended by Captain Dunlap for and was 
awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. 

We had not eaten since the morning of the 
day before and we had been able to get very 
little sleep for the last four days. There was 
no chance of getting any food that night but 
we did not notice our hunger so much at this 
particular time for the excitement of the at- 
tack that afternoon was still fresh. 

That night the First Battalion, under com- 
mand of Major Carrol R. Kelly, came into the 
woods as our support. The next day a detail 
of one hundred men from that Battalion was 
put to work burying the horses, and another 
detail was assigned to Father Conaty to bury 



54 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

the soldiers in the woods. The shelling from 
the enemy became quieter throiighout the day 
and our own artillery let up on its firing also. 
The enemy aeroplanes, however, kept coming 
over our lines quite frequently during the day 
and great care had to be taken so as not to 
disclose our position. 

On Wednesday night, the ration carts of the 
companies drove up to the woods and after de- 
positing a can of coffee, a can of ^^slum" and 
some bread, turned around and hurriedl}^ dis- 
appeared. These rations were immediately 
carried to the men on the Line, who were only 
too glad to get them. Later these cans were 
brought back to the woods and picked up the 
following evening when more rations were 
brought up there. 

By Thursday, the shelling, both from our 
side and the enemy's side, occurred only once 
in a while, and "Our Second Battalion" im- 
proved its position. Saturday afternoon, it 
commenced to rain again and then we received 
orders that we would be withdrawn from that 
position that night and the sector taken over 
by the 38th and 7th Infantries extending their 
left and right flanks respectively. It con- 
tinued to rain all day long and throughout the 
night. As soon as darkness came, the com- 
panies began to move back into the woods and 
started on their way to the rear. Battalion 



OUR FIEST ATTACK 55 

Headquarters and the Scouts were the last to 
go, they not being' able to get out of the woods 
until six o'clock Sunday morning. On account 
of the Battalion moving back that nigbt, no 
rations had come up and we had not eaten 
anything since Friday night. 



CHAPTER V. 

CHATEAU THIERRY. 

AFTER leaving the Bois d'Aigremont, we 
^^ came to Grieves Farm, to which point our 
wounded had been carried on stretchers and 
taken from there to hospitals in ambulances. 
We kept as close to the woods as we possibly 
could and marched in column of file with an 
interval of about ten feet. When we reached 
an open stretch of land the interval was 
lengthened and the pace was quickened. This 
was done for the purpose of keeping as much 
as possible from being observed. Even in back 
of these woods, we came across dead horses 
which had been gassed nearly a week before. 
Some of them were in very poor condition and 
the odor was so strong that we lost no time in 
getting past them. 

At about eleven o'clock. Battalion Head- 
quarters reached the Grande Bordeaux Farm, 
where the rest of the regiment had assembled. 
The whole wagon train was there also and in 
addition to getting a cooked meal there, we 
received a large mail from the States. The day 
was warm and the sun was shining brightly 
and after eating, many of us started to answer 
some of the letters we had received, while 
others were content to lie doi^Mi on the grass 
and rest up a little. 




CAPTAIN JOHN M. VI.AllKP., COMPANY F. 

Killed in Action August 11th, 1918. 



CHATEAU THIERRY 57 

In the afternoon, an aide to General Muir, 
our Division Commander, delivered orders to 
Colonel Shannon to move his regiment from 
the farm. At three-thirty, the whole regiment, 
wagon train and all, started on another 
march. The march was begun in column of 
squads but we had only gone a little distance, 
when the enemy started to shell in the imme- 
diate vicinity of the road over which we were 
traveling and we went into columns of file on 
either side of the road. 

We were traveling in a westerly direction 
and after about two hours we reached the 
summit of a hill, from which we could survey 
the valley just beyond us. We could also see 
Chateau Thierry and knew that we must 
surely he headed for that City. The road had 
been shelled quite a little as there were nu- 
merous fresh shell holes in it and in some of 
the holes, mustard gas was scattered. We 
went as far away from these holes as we could. 
We wound our way down over the hill until 
we reached what was left of the town of Nell- 
ies. Practically every house in that town was 
in ruins. It was the first town we had yet 
passed through in such a ruined condition. 
It lies just behind Chateau Thierry and this 
accounted for it being shelled so much. As 
"Our Second Battalion'' was going through 
this to^\Ti, a halt was made and this gave us 
a chance to examine some of the buildings 
more thoroughly. 



58 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

Although we didn't know it, the last of the 
Germans had been driven from Chateau Thier- 
ry at about five-thirty that afternoon and were 
still in retreat a short distance ahead when 
we reached that city. The Mame River di- 
vides the city in half and the Germans had 
held the Northern part, while the French and 
Americans had held the Southern part. Just 
after we got into the city a little ways, another 
halt was eialled. While resting here, we could 
see the partly constructed trenches there with 
the bar'bed wire in front of them. Every here 
and there, close up to the ri^ver ibanli, were 
sniper's holes. The shell holes were quite nu- 
merous but the road was in rather good con- 
dition. The city itself was very beautiful, with 
very fine buildings, not. very many of which 
had been entirely destroyed by the shelling. 
The streets were filled with dehris, many of 
the houses had hits and ends blown off and 
all the windows broken, but, as a whole, the 
city was nowhere as near iniined as the town of 
Neilles. Large shells were still landing in the 
city as w^e passed through, causing much de- 
bris, as well as shrapnel, to fly through the 
air, hut none of our men was hit by any of it. 

After getting into the center of the part of 
the city that was on the Southern side of the 
Mame, we turned to the right and follow^ed 
that street in an easterly direction until we 
came to a point where a beautiful bridge had 



CHATEAU THIERRY 59 

once spanned the River. This bridge had been 
destroyed on the morning of July 15th by the 
3rd Division as the Germans had attempted 
to 'Cross it. About one hundred and fifty feet 
below this bridge, a pontoon bridge had been 
quickly erected in the afternoon of this day 
and it was over this bridge that we were to 
cross. We had read of the Battle of the Marne 
and of hoAv the Germans had crossed certain 
parts of it in 1914; we knew of their last at- 
tempt to cross it entirely but a week before; 
we knew that some of them had crossed it in 
the sector from which we had just come and 
where "Our Second Battalion" had made a 
magnificent counter-attack and rid the enemy 
of the Southern banks of the river; and now 
it was our turn to cross the famous river. It 
was after eight o'clock when we reached that 
place and it was a wonderful moonlight night. 
The air was warm and clear. At exactly 8:35 
the third man of "Our Second Battalion" 
crossed the Marne, followed by the rest of the 
Battalion. We then followed a street which 
gradually left the river and at nine o'clock we 
reached the ruined town of Brasles, just East 
of Chateau Thierry. Tired and hungry though 
we were, for we had had but one meal in the 
past seventy-two hours, and had marched for 
about eleven hours of that time, we felt some- 
what joyful over the thought that we were 
making a victory worth while. 



60 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

The four companies were scattered close to- 
gether in the yards and fields of houses in this 
town. Some tents were erected, while the ma- 
jority of the men chose to lie in the open, 
wrapped in their blankets with their shelter 
halves under them. We were none too warm 
that night for it got very chilly before morning. 
The next morning we had a very light meal, 
each man in Company E getting a half cup of 
coffee, a piece of bread and a small bit of 
oatmeal. 

That morning one of the Division Supply 
Trucks drove up to where we were and, to our 
surprise, it had a stock of clean underwear. 
All those who wanted a change were given a 
chance to draw a suit of it by handing in their 
old. This exchange of underwear was accom- 
plished by the troops lining up, some with 
their slickers on over their bare skin and 
others lining up stripped, with their used ar- 
ticles in their arms. A commissary truck 
also drove up that morning and we were given 
the opportunity of buying a few supplies, con- 
sisting mostly of towels and soap and razors, 
which was eagerly availed of, as some of us 
had lost our packs the previous week. 

That night about seven o'clock. Captain 
Dunlap called a meeting of his Company Com- 
manders and dictated a report on the last 
week's activities along the Marne. At eight 
o'clock, *^Our Second Battalion" moved up over 



CHATEAU THIERRY 61 

the steep hill about one mile away and we lay 
down in the woods. Shortly after we got set- 
tled, it commenced to rain and continued to 
rain. At two-thirty the next morning, (Tues- 
day), before hardly any of us were able to 
get to sleep because of so much firing by the 
heavy guns, orJers were in "get ready to move 
again.-' All the troops were aroused and we 
formed up on the road at the bottom of the 
woods. When everybody was ready to move, 
we discovered that Sergeant Major Willard 
Ewing (later commissioned and wounded) was 
not in the column. The Sergeant Major and 
"Spike" O'Neil, Captain Dunlap's orderly, 
started up through the woods trying to find 
the approximate location where they had been 
lying for a few hours, calling and calling for 
Ewing. After much scouring around, an an- 
swer was finally heard from Ewing and upon 
going over to him, they found that he had been 
peacefully sleeping through it all. The three 
of them then came down over the hill and sat 
down along the road with the rest of the regi- 
ment and waited for orders to start marching. 
It was still raining at three-thirty when we 
started to march. We only went a short dis- 
tance when we halted and here we rested for 
another few hours. Between six and seven 
we moved again. It kept raining off and on 
during our entire march, the sun coming out 
twice during that time, drying us out a little. 



62 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

At eleven o'clock we reached the Picardy 
Farm. When the word ^'farm" is used, it must 
not be thought that we were fortunate enough 
to be going to a large building or outhouse 
for shelter. Generally, it was w^hat was left 
of a farm and we were put in the woods 
around it. 

When We reached these w^oods, we were so 
tired that we just lay right down on the ground 
in the rain, only a few tents being erected. 
There w^ere a few dugouts there but they were 
quickly occupied. The cooks were unable to 
prepare a meal for the longest time on account 
of not having any water. Then when water 
was obtained it was difficult to keep the fires 
going in the cookers because the wood was so 
wet. However, before the afternoon had 
passed, each company was able to get a little 
bit of something to eat. 

In the afternoon. Captain Dunlap and all 
the officers of the Battalion were called to 
Regimental Headquarters, from which they 
left in trucks to reconnoiter the position we 
were to take over from the 26th Division. At 
seven-thirty that night, a runner brought or- 
ders for the Battalion to move at once. In the 
absence of all the officers, the Sergeant Major 
despatched runners to the Firstt Sergeants of 
our four Compaiiies and eight o'clock the bat- 
talion was formed and ready to move again. 
Shortly after we started up the road, Lieut. 



CHATEAU THIERRY C3 

Colonel Bertram L. Suecop met us and as- 
sumed command. 

For the first part of the march, we traveled 
back over the sa.me route we had come over 
earlier in the day. Again we passed by the 
artillery of the 26th Division, who came out 
along the road and passed out bread, hard 
tack and corned beef to us as we marched 
along. ^' Where are you going? Up again or 
back for a rest?" they would ask us, and we, 
who had been in action for only a week, but 
thought we were entitled to a rest then, re- 
plied that we did not know "whether we were 
going or coming, but we didn't think the 28th 
Division was having such good luck as going 
back for a rest.'^ 

On the march, all the officers except C'ap- 
tain Dunlap and Lieut. Dickson joined their 
respective companies, and at albout two o'clock 
the next morning (Wednesday, July 24th) we 
reached the point where Captain Dunlap was 
to join us. Captain Clarke had, upon joining 
the column, assumed command of the Battal- 
ion. He said that he knew the location of the 
position we were to take over and if the Cap- 
tain didn't show up soon we would go into posi- 
tion. He led us across a railroad track and 
told us to lie down in the edge of some woods, 
where some of our artillery was located, while 
he would go out and look for Captain Dun- 
lap. The guns were firing away at regular in- 



64 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

tervals but we were so tired we did not pay 
much attention to them, but attempted to get 
a little sleep. Captain Clarke returned in 
about a half an hour and ordered us to move 
again. As we passed over the railroad tracks 
again, all who needed it, filled their canteens 
with water from a pump which was near a 
little house along the railroad. After the c<an- 
teens were filled, we moved forward again up 
the road and after going through the remains 
of a little town, we took up a position about 
one kilometre Northeast of Foret de Fere at 
three o'clock. The troops were concealed in 
the woods, while Battalion Headquarters was 
established in a little wooden shack immedi- 
ately iu front of the woods. Around this 
shack there seemed to be a little orchard, for 
there were trees all around and the runners 
were told to lie down here as the shack was 
filled with sleeping men of the 26th Division. 
We noticed that there was an awful odor in 
that neighborhood and the next morning dis- 
covered what was left of a dead horse close 
to the wooden shack. 



CHAPTER VI. 

ALMOST SURROUNDED. 

AT FIVE O'CLOCK, Captain Dunlap ap- 
^ peared and said that he had orders to make 
an attack at 6 :15. This word was immediately 
sent to the Company Commanders and the 
Captain made his formation for the attack. 
At exactly 6 :15 the attack was started, with 
the Third Battalion on our right with the 
same dispositions we had and the First Bat- 
talion in support of both the Third and 
Second Battalions. Two companies were in 
the front wave, two platoons of each com- 
pany in the front line and two platoons in 
support, and two companies in the second 
w^ave. We were headed for some woods about 
a kilometre northeast of us, where the enemy 
was supposed to he and where we expected 
to meet real action, but after we had gone 
about a quarter of a kilometre we could see 
some French troops going into these woods 
and accordingly halted the advance and made 
a report to the Colonel. He in turn immedi- 
ately notified General Weigel, our Brigade 
Commander, and requested that the barrage, 
which was to have been put down on those 
woods just about the time we were to reach 
them, be not put down. We then received 
orders to return to our original positions, get 



66 OUB SECOND BATTALION 

our packs and proceed in a southeasterly di- 
rection, through Epieds, until contact with the 
enemy was had. General Weigel, in addition 
to receiving the reports from us, had been ad- 
vised that the enemy was in a fast retreat. 

As soon as the packs were secured we 
started out again in the same formation. 
Every here and there a dead American (from 
the 26th Division) was lying, killed but the 
day before. We went through all the packs 
and took the hard tack from them, and we even 
went so far as to take a few pairs of clean 
socks which we found in the packs. In Epieds 
there were some few Americans and Germans 
lying dead, and everything indicated that 
there had been a pretty stiff fight there. After 
leaving this town we started through the fields 
again, and the further our line advanced the 
thinner it became, and eventually it became 
disengaged and we discovered that we had 
only Company H and two platoons of Com- 
pany E together in our battalion and about 
the same number of men in the Third Bat- 
talion. 

Going through the woods a little further 
we came across an American in French uni- 
form who had just been shot through the leg, 
and he said that the Germans had passed by 
less than an hour before. We knew then that 
we were getting close to them and were glad 
of it because our orders called for us to keep 



ALMOST SURROUNDED 67 

advancing until contact with the enemy was 
had, and we w^ere pretty nearly exhausted 
from so much advancing and marching dur- 
ing the last few days, and especially in the 
hot sun of that day. As we came to an open 
place in the woods w^e stopped and rested a 
few minutes. 

We then proceeded in column of file, Com- 
pany H leading, wath Colonel Shannon and 
his Adjutant and a few others in between that 
company, followed by Battalion Headquarters 
and then Company E. At this time we were 
going up a little road in a due easterly di- 
rection, with our oibjective as the La Croix 
Rouge Farm, still about a kilometre away. 
^^Tit-a-tat-t^t" rang out some enemy machine 
guns. In an instant every man w^as flat on 
his stomach. Automatic rifle teams were sent 
out on either side, and after a few minutes^ 
firing iwe w^ere able to start again. Here the 
road turned sharply to the south, and no 
sooner had the whole of our battalion got 
along this road when an awful outburst of 
machine gun fire broke loose. Quick as a 
flash every man except one — Colonel Shannon 
— ^was Ivino: on his stomach firing awav into 
the deep thick woods from which the enemy 
fire w^ai^ coming. 

Colonel Shannon, during all this firing, 
kept walking up and down the road direct- 
ing the fire, and it was here that he was nick- 



68 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

named "Two- Yard Shannon." One platoon of 
Company H was sent into the woods and the 
rest of the troops quit' firing in order not to 
hit our own men. A few minutes after they 
entered the woods word was brought that 
more help was needed, and another platoon 
from the same company was sent in to help. 
Again word was l)rought that the resistance 
was strong and they needed more men, and 
the two remaining platoons of Company H 
moved into the woods. A few of the wounded 
were brought out and then something strange 
happened. It was the only time we ever heard 
a bugle blown on the front line. The Colonel, 
seeing that we could not dislodge the enemy 
with such a few men and that darkness was 
beginning to fall, ordered "Recall'' to be 
blown, and reluctantly the men of Company 
H came out of the woods, bringing their 
wounded comrades with them. They then 
went in after the bodies of those who had 
been killed, but could not get close to two of 
them on account of the strong enemy fire. 
That attack had lasted but only about ten 
minutes, but in that space of time fifteen men 
were w^ounded and five men were killed, all 
from Company H. Harry K. Brush, Frank 
B. Flick and Alfred Higgins were killed in- 
stantly. Ernest H. Kaufman was shot 
through the stomach and lived for about an 
hour, but was unconscious nearly all the time, 
while Walter Madenford lived for about a half 



ALMOST SURROUNDED 69 

hour after being hit. Sergeant Romer C. 
Johnston had his jaw broken and his teeth 
shattered by machine gun bullets. Sergeant 
Clarence A. Barter, James H. Achuff, William 
H. Bilbrough, John A. Baserman, Joseph 
Majcherski and Salvatore Opipari were also 
wounded. 

We had advanced about ten kilometres in 
all that day and all the while messages were 
being sent to the rear, but, as it later devel- 
oped, none of these messages were delivered 
on account of General Weigel changing the 
location of his headquarters. We Tvere also 
told later that many various reports had 
reached the troops in back of us to the effect 
that Colonel Shannon had been killed, most 
of our troops had surrendered, and that we 
were surrounded on all sides by the enemy. 
Had the enemy known the few number of 
troops which we had, in all probability an 
attempt would have been made to surround 
us, 'but they must have been deceived by the 
heavy rifle and machine gun fire from our 
side. The German machine gunners must 
have been concealed in trees, for the men who 
went into the woods reported that they could 
see no Germans nor ascertain exactly from 
where the terrific fire was coming towards 
them. 

The rest of the troops of "Our Second 
Battalion'^ were also having a hard time try- 



70 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

ing to get through the woods, although they 
did not run into machine gun lire. They did, 
however, run into barrages, and during one 
of these, just outside of Courpoil, iSergeant 
Frank Andrea of Company G was hit with 
a piece of shrapnel, dying a few days after- 
wards. Leo J. Kern of the same company was 
hit in the wrist and leg at the same time. 

When they reached the edge of the town of 
Courpoil, after emerging from a little stretch 
of woods, they saw some French troops rest- 
ing on either side of the road going into tlie 
town. After going up the road a little way 
Captain Schlosser decided that to allow the 
men to remain there would be putting them 
in too much of an exposed position, so he or- 
dered the men back into the w^oods again. No 
sooner had they gotten back into the woods 
than a six-inch shell hit a^bout seventy-five 
feet from where the French troops were lying, 
but they never seemed to notice it. In less 
than fifteen seconds three more six-inch shells 
hit right among them, wounding quite a few 
and the rest scattered in all directions. 

At that time we did not know where the 
rest of the troops of the battalion were 
located or what had happened to them or any- 
thing about the situation in general. We did 
know, however, that there was stiff opposi- 
tion immediately ahead of us and we were 
apparently far ahead of the other troops and 



ALMOST SURROUNDED 71 

did not see any signs of getting food or am- 
munition during the night. Early the next 
morning the French interpreter, who was 
with the Colonel (a Lieutenant from the 
French Blue Devils), volunteered to locate 
General Wei gel, give him our position and 
arrange to get food, ammunition and support- 
ing troops up to us. He got to General 
WeigePs headquarters just in time to prevent 
the artillery from putting down a strong con- 
centration barrage in the very part of the 
woods in which w^e were located. They had 
been advised that this was the approximate 
location of the enemy and intended to put 
diown a barrage for the enemy ^s embarrass- 
ment. 

After the attack we withdrew about a hun- 
dred yards and Company K was placed in the 
front line, while w^e spread out in the rear. 
Numerous little dugouts were in the patch of 
w'oods we went into, but not enough to ac- 
commodate every^one. All night long the 
enemy sent shell after shell into those woods 
and all around us, most of them being Aus- 
trian 88's, and, while a good many of them 
fell right beside and among us, no man 
was hit. 

We began to notice our hunger more and 
more the next morning, but those thoughts 
w^ere put out of our minds every little while 
when the enemy started sending his high ex- 



72 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

plosive shells over at us. Our canteens were 
empty and there was no chance for us even 
to get water, and we knew that we wouldn^t 
get relieved before that night at least, and 
then, in all probability, there would be a long 
march until we reached our kitchens and be 
able to get some food. Towards noon we saw 
Lieutenant Rafferty, the Regimental Intelli- 
gence Officer, and the French interpreter and 
two runners coming through the woods carry- 
ing some bread and a sack full of something 
under their arms, which w^e learned in a short 
time was filled with canned peas, com and 
tomatoes. This food was taken to the dugout, 
where Colonel Shannon, Captain Gill, Caph 
tain Dunlap, Lieutenant Dickson, Major Don- 
nelly and Lieutenant Missimer had estab- 
lished themselves, and was divided up between 
the troops of the two battalions. A loaf and 
a half of bread and a few cans of peas, com 
and tomatoes was the share that was given to 
the six platoons that w^e had in our battalion 
besides battalion headquarters. When it was 
again divided into platoons each platoon got 
a piece of bread about six inches long and 
twelve inches wide and four cans of either 
peas, com or tomatoes. This little hit of food 
refreshed us a little, hut still there was no 
water. 

About two o'clock in the afternoon we were 
told that we would be relieved that night by 



ALMOST SURROUNDED 73 

the 167th Infantry of the 42n(i (RainlK)w) 
Division, that the relieving troops were al- 
ready in the woods immediately in our rear, 
and that we would be relieved that night as 
soon as darkness fell. 

About four o'clock that afternoon some- 
one was digging in a clump of bushes just 
behind where a few of us were lying in our 
dugouts. We remarked that we wondered 
who was so foolish as to be digging a dugout 
then when our relief was lying right in back 
of us and we would surely get out that night, 
even though the shelling had not altogether 
stopped. The digging continued and we paid 
no more attention to it. It stopped in a 
little w^hile, and then we heard the mujBfled 
notes of Taps being sounded. Immediately we 
knew what it was and got up iind weut to 
the spot. We got there just as the last notes 
were being sounded. There were three men 
from Company H, killed the day before in the 
action that took place, lying in their eternal 
resting place, side by side in a little grave 
not more than two feet deep and no wider 
than the width of their three bodies laid 
closely together. Each man was wrapped in 
his own blanket, and another blanket was 
spread under them and one over them. It was, 
indeed, a sad sight, and there w^ere tears in 
Captain Cain's eyes as these three boys from 
his company were put to rest. 



74 OUR SECOND BATTAUON 

As soon as darkness came the troops of the 
167th Infantry began to move up and the Third 
Battalion men began to go back. After the 
position had been taken up we started to move 
out and back through the woods. It seemed 
as though the enemy must have known we 
were going to be relieved that night, for they 
certainly did shell the road which we followed 
going through these woods. He seemed to 
know the exact location of every bend in that 
road and it was the most accurate shelling 
we were ever under or saw. The shells hit 
in the woods and right in the middle of the 
road. We would flop to the ground and trust 
that none of the bursting shells or shrapnel 
would hit us. Then we would get up and run 
a few yard®, when another shell would hit, 
and again we would take to the ground. It 
was a dark night and the road was awful 
muddy. Many times, when going through a 
dense part of the woods, it was so dark that 
we could not see the man in front of us, but 
still we trudged on and on through the mud 
and shelling, with only one purpose in mind, 
and that was to get out of those woods as 
quickly as possible. 

During all that shelling and close as they 
hit to us only one of our men — Firestone of 
our Medical Men — was hit, he having his leg 
broken by a piece of shrapnel. Another man 
of the 42nd Division was also hit, for we could 



ALMOST SURROUNDED 75 

hear him yelling and citing not far from the 
road. He seemed to l>e in terrible pain, for he 
was shouting, ^^Oh, God, take me out of 
here,'' "For God's sake, get me first-aid," and 
such expressions. The whole 42nd Division 
appeared to be moving into that position, for 
we passed nearly all the infantry regiments. 
It was the first time we had ever been around 
where that division was operating. We also 
passed some French regiment that was taking 
up positions on the right. 

At Courpoil w^e picked up the rest of our 
battalion and marched until 2 :30, when we 
reached the w^oods southeast of Trugny, and 
there, for the first and only time, a hot meal 
was awaiting us. The Colonel had given posi- 
tive orders that each company be ready to 
serve hot meals to the troops who were coming 
back immediately upon their arrival. When 
we reached these woods we found the Mess 
Sergeants asleep. Immediately a wild howl 
was raised and so much noise was made that 
the Mess Sergeants awakened, and in a few 
minutes we had put our packs down in the 
dark and were lined up, getting our "chow." 
After eating we had to look around the ground 
and find our packs. We were so tired that 
we just lay dow^n on the ground, wrapping 
our blankets around us. At about 6 o'clock 
it started to rain and the cookers started to get 
breakfast, but most of us just kept on lying 
on the ground and let it rain. 



CHAPTER VIL 

ON THE HEELS OF THE GERMANS. 

/^UR Division now went into the reserve and 
^ later into the support, and as such, it was 
our duty to keep advancing with the advance 
of the Front Line, thus keeping right on the 
heels of the Germans. 

After sleeping and resting as long as we 
could in our blankets, we got up and looked 
around to see what kind of surroundings we 
had and discovered that our whole Brigade 
was encamped in the immediate woods. Our 
Regiment was stretched out, one Battalion 
after another on the edge of these woods, into 
which we, who had lain in the open the last 
few hours, moved our belongings and erected 
our tents. All the tents were erected though 
before another rain had started. Before this 
rain, however, we received another mail from 
the States so we had some very interesting 
letters to read while we lay in our tents. It 
was the first time in nearly two weeks that 
we could lie down and feel that we were rea- 
sonably safe and able to get a sleep that was 
anyways comfortable. 

On Sunday, the 28th, we broke camp early, 
getting our breakfast at five o'clock and were 
in column, ready to move, at six. We had 
rather expected this for we had been on the 



ON THE HEELS OF THE GERMANS 77 

move for the past two Sundays and were now 
beginning to believe that a Sunday couldn't 
pass by without us moving. The orders to 
start didn't come until ten o'clock and when 
we did get on our way, we made long stops 
after making only a short distance. At six 
o'clock that evening, after being on the road 
for eight hours, we reached the Foret de Fere 
and had travelled only about six kilometres. 

In these woods, also, the regiment was kept 
together. There were some dugouts there with 
some German clothing and parts of uniforms 
in them and the indications were that the Ger- 
mans had been in those woods but a few days 
before we reached them. On a couple of after- 
noons, Father Conaty went up to a lonely part 
of the woods and heard confessions behind a 
tree, giving Communion later in the after- 
noons in plain view of the rest of the troops. 
Every morning, he said Mass, using the ingate 
of the Battalion Baggage Wagon as his altar. 

On account of the German blankets, cloth- 
ing and uniforms that were in these dugouts 
and for some other reasons the "cooties" be- 
came very well acquainted with a good many 
of the men of "Our Second Battalion." Then 
practically everyone suffered from an attack 
of dysentery and for this reason we called 
this place "Dysentery Woods." On Tuesday 
night, a French artilleryman came over and 
told us that the enemy had been pushed back 



78 OUR SECOND BATTAUON 

SO far that his guns, which were located just 
to our right, were unable to reach them and 
they had to cease firing. The strangest thing 
that happened while we were in these woods 
was a mmor which started that night 
throughout the entire Kegiment that Germany 
was willing to make peace on the terms of the 
United States. Of course, we didn't believe 
it, but were hoping all the time that it might 
be true. 

On Thursday, we got an exceptionally large 
mail just as it was nearly dark and we were 
unalble to read it until the next- morning. Ai. 
about nine o'clock that night the alarm was 
given that an enemy aeroplane was overhead 
and we all searched the sky trying to find it. 
We learned later that a bomb was dropped 
just about this time on some troops of either 
the 109th or 110th Infantry, which was lying 
somew^here behind us, injuring quite a few 
men. It was said that some of the fellows 
were playing cards in a "pup" tent with a 
small light in it and that is how the plane knew 
the location of the troops. 

The first thing we did on Friday morning 
was to read the mail we had received the 
previous night. On Saturday, the 3rd of Au- 
gust, we got orders that we would move again 
that night. At 7 :30 we started and put in one 
of the most miserable and wretched nights we 
ever had on the road. As might be expected, 



ON THE HEELS OF THE GERMANS 79 

it started to rain shortly after we began our 
march. AVe didn't think it would last long 
and that's why some of us just threw our 
slickers over our packs and shoulders, while 
others took their packs off and wore their 
slickers in the proper way. It rained contin- 
uously and violently practically all night long 
and we made very little headway on account 
of so much traffic on the roads. We crossed 
the Ourcq River and through the town of 
Courmont. We must have halted about half 
the night. We would stop for a period of an 
hour and an half and then be aw^akened to pro- 
ceed another few hundred yards or so, w^hen we 
would stop again and have another long rest. 
It was useless to hunt a dry place and we 
simply sat, and some even lay, right down 
either on the slimy, muddy road itself, or on 
the bank alongside of it. It didn't make much 
difference for one place was as good as the 
other. Once or twice we did march a little 
further than a few hundred yards but we fell 
almost asleep while doing so and would come 
to ourselves only when we walked off the road. 
Just as it was breaking day, we came to the 
town of Cierges where, just a few days before, 
the 110th Infantry had had such a hard and 
costly battle. The place was strewn with dead 
Germans and the odor was very bad, but the 
dead Americans had already been buried. 
The Germans were of the Prussian Guards 



80 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

and every one of them was at least six feet tall 
and very well built. Right beside one of these 
fellows was a truck load of good bread, 
dropped there apparently by some truck driver 
who came up in the dead of night and dropped 
his load at the first convenient spot, never 
taking the time to look around. 

At nine o'clock, muddy, hungry, tired and 
nearly exhausted after the terrible night we 
had put through, we reached an open field 
northwest of Villome, where we erected our 
tents and crawled in and went to sleep. Later 
that morning we got a small breakfast and 
then at about one o'clock, while we were lined 
up getting another little bit to eat, orders 
came in for us to move at once. What little 
food was given us was hurriedly eaten, the 
tents taken down, packs rolled and again we 
were formed up, ready to keep on the heels of 
the Germans. We cut across the fields and 
passed more of the Prussian Guards, some of 
whom were in a very decomposed condition 
on account of their bodies being exposed to 
the sun so much. We had just gone about a 
kilometre when we were halted, turned around 
and marched back to the open field again^ the 
reason for this being that the Fourth Division 
had received the same orders as we had and 
they were going up the road we were to take 
when we reached that point. 

There were two slopes on this open part of 
the country, with "Our Second Battalion" on 



ON THE HEELS OF THE GERMANS 81 

one side and the Third Battalion on the other. 
That evening, Father Conaty gave a little in- 
struction to us, his theme being to the effect 
that while we were to fight living Germans 
as Americans should fight, after they were 
dead, we were to respect their bodies in the 
proper way. This particular instruction was 
prompted by a big husky M. P. kicking a dead 
German soldier and making a cursing remark 
about him to Father Conaty as he had come 
up to look for identification on the body that 
morning. 

The next day, Monday, we started out again 
at eleven o'clock over the same route we had 
taken the day before and reached the woods 
Northwest of Dravegny, where we pitched our 
tents just in time to get a little shelter from 
an all afternoon rain. Those of us who had 
been fortunate enough not to be infested ^\dth 
the ^^cooties'' discovered here that these pests 
had made our acquaintance while we were 
lying in the Foret d' Fere. 

On Tuesday we got another mail from the 
States and at nine o'clock that night started 
following the Germans again. We had now 
just about decided that it was not any easier 
to be reserve or support than it was to be on 
the Front Line, for we got no more rest. The 
only thing was we missed the machine gun 
bullets and the frequent barrages, but we still 
got the heavy shells. This time we marched 



82 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

until one o'clock, when we reached the side of 
a hill along the stream near Chery Chartreve. 
We called this hill "Tin Can Hill," because 
there were so many little dugouts constructed 
with sheet-iron on top as protection. There 
were not enough dugouts for all and some of 
the men went up on top of the hill to lie down 
in the open. They did not have time to get 
their packs open, w^hen a couple of shells hit 
close beside them and they hurried to get on 
the side of the hill for a little protection, but 
just as they reached the edge, a shell whizzed 
past so close to their heads that they swore 
they almost felt it going past. It hit at the 
bottom of the hill but none of the fragments 
did us any damage. 

Right at the bottom of this hill, there was a 
"155" and some others scattered all around 
this neighborhood. Between these guns firing 
away and numerous shells coming back in our 
direction in an effort to get one of these guns, 
we had a very shaky time of it in this locality, 
for those big guns of ours certainly did shake 
"Tin Can Hill" and all the troops on it every 
time they fired, and they never consulted the 
men of "Our Second Battalion" when was the 
most convenient time for the firing to be done. 

On Wednesday afternoon, two aeroplanes 
came flying over our heads from the German 
side of the line headed in the direction of two 
French observation balloons, one of which was 



ON THE HEELS OF THE GERMANS 83 

in the air straight in back of us and the other 
a little in our right rear. As they got opposite 
the one on the right, one plane started out to- 
wards the balloon at that place, while the other 
started for the balloon just ahead of it. It 
was discovered then that they were French 
planes being operated by Germans and both 
observation balloons started for the ground. 
The plane got to the one on the right and hit 
it, setting it on fire, and the other balloon Avas 
just a short distance from the ground when 
the plane flew low and close to it and set it 
on fire also. The anti-aircraft guns and 75^s 
were firing at the planes but both planes man- 
aged to get out of their range and fly back to 
their side of the Line. Unknown to us at that 
time, our Division Signal Corps took pictures 
of these balloons burning and the aerial ob- 
servers dropping in their parachutes. 

On Thursday morning at eleven-thirty, we 
got orders to roll our packs and be ready to 
move at any moment. Night came and we 
hadn't moved yet so some of us unrolled our 
packs and attempted to get a little rest. At 
10:45 the orders came in for us to move but 
we didn't get started until 12:30. We fol- 
lowed ^'Tin Can Hill" for a little ways, passing 
more of our large artillery guns, then cut 
across the open fields and reached the road 
leading into Fismes. At two o'clock after 
marching up the road for a short distance, we 



84 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

reached the place that the First Battalion had 
occupied and moved into the numerous little 
dugouts along the roadside. 

It was now Friday, the 9th, the day when 
our Regiment first went into Fismes, the First 
Battalion moving in early that morning. The 
enemy commenced to shell the road shortly 
after we stopped and continued it off and on 
for the remainder of the night. A little later 
in the morTiirij:, during one of the shellings, 
Paul L. Omo, of Company F, was killed with 
fragments of a bursting shelly and many others 
of that Company were hit at the same time. 
Around noon, the wounded of the First Bat- 
talion were beginning to be carried back on 
stretchers and those, who were able to walk 
by themselves or with a little assistance, were 
coming down the road. Man after man, who 
had been gassed, came back, gasping and 
coughing from the gas in their lungs and some 
of them crying from having it in their eyes. 

The enemy continued to shell our positions 
throughout the entire day. In the afternoon 
a direct hit was made among the men of Com- 
pany E, killing Ludwig Galczyn instantly, and 
wounding John Baran so badly that he lived 
but ten minutes. No sooner had that shell hit, 
than Father Conaty was out of his dugout 
running to the wounded men. He covered up 
Galcz^Ti's body with a blanket and did all he 
could for Baran, but he was unconscious and 



ON THE HEELS OF THE GERMANS 85 

was beyond all hope of recovery. The two of 
them were buried that night a short distance 
from where they were hit. 

In the afternoon, Captain Dunlap and some 
of the officers went over to the left of Fismes 
and reconnoitered the position "Our Second 
Battalion" was to take over that nig'ht, reliev- 
ing the First Battalion of the 112th Infantry. 
At about five o'clock, our minds were taken 
off the shelling for the time being by an aero- 
plane fight, which happened right over our 
heads. One plane was chasing another, 
headed for where we were lying. We thought 
it was a Frenchman chasing a German, but 
when they passed over our heads, not more 
than a hundred feet above, we discovered it 
was the opposite. The Frenchman was headed 
for the ground and the Jerry was about 
twenty-five feet in back of him. Each machine 
was firing away machine-gun fire at the other 
and we could hear the bullets strike the ma- 
chines and see the sparks from the strikings. 
Just as the nose of the French plane was about 
to hit the earth, it turned suddenly upward, 
and so sudden was it that it was able to es- 
cape from the German plane. 

Lloyd Ramsey, of Company E, was standing 
beside his dugout when a shell hit about three 
feet away from him, but it was a dud and did 
not explode. Ramsey turned to his buddy in 
his dugout and said, ^-Gee, wasn't I lucky.'' 



86 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

Another shell hit so close to the hole in which 
Corporal William H. Whiteside and Sergeant 
Ralph H. Waugaman were lying, that it scat- 
tered dirt over them. Waugaman lifted his 
head above the level of the earth and laugh- 
ingly yelled over to Sergeant Roy R. Zimmers, 
"Is the storm over yet?" 



CHAPTER VIII. 
FISMES. 

AT DUSK on Friday evening, August 9th, 
^*"Our Se<?ond Battalion'' left its position 
along the road into Fismes and moved across 
the open fields and then down over the valley 
to a point just west of Fismes, relieving the 
First Battalion of the 112th Infantry. 

At about eleven o'clock the next morning an 
attack developed out of what was intended, 
at first, to be a raid, by the crossing of the 
railroad tracks, which ran parallel to and 
north of the Vesle River. 

Captain Schlosser was the first man to cross 
the railroad in the attack Saturday morning. 
He ordered First Sergeant, John W. Thomp- 
son, to feed the rest of Company G across to 
the other side. One German machine gun was 
located on the northern bank of the railroad 
about two hundred and fifty yards away from 
the place chosen for the men to cross. This 
machine gun which swept the railroad con- 
tinuously, was being operated by three men 
and they and the gun could be plainly seen, 
after the railroad was crossed and some of 
the men had advanced near it. Corporal Wal- 
ter Doubt of Company H and another man 
were playing a covering fire with their auto- 
matic rifles in the direction of the enemy fire, 



88 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

trying to lessen it. They would begin their 
firing between the time one line of men was 
crossing the railroad and the next line would 
be waiting their chance. The men continued 
to get across without anyone getting hit. 
"Sunshine'' Turner, who was a vei^y pious and 
religious fellow came up in his turn to cross. 
He was of a slow and easy disposition. When 
he reached Sergeant Thompson, the Sergeant 
impressed upon him the importance of running 
and of running as fast as he could, as he was 
going to be under rapid machine gun fire from 
the time he left there until he reached the 
other side of the railroad. Turner started, but 
he started off on a dog-trot. Anyone could 
have walked as fast as he was running. 
Thompson kept yelling at him to hurry up, 
and when he reached the middle of the rail- 
road tracks, with machine gun bullets whiz- 
zing past him and some even hitting the cross- 
ties at his feet, Thompson yelled, "For God's 
sake, man, hurry." Turner deliberately 
stopped dead, turned around and asked Ser- 
geant Thompson what he said. He then faced 
around and walked to the other side of the rail- 
road without a bullet touching him. 

The rest of Company G got across the rail- 
road without a casualty and then two platoons 
of Company H got across in the same manner, 
closely followed by two platoons of Com- 
pany F. 




FIKST I.IELT. CHAK1.KS C. CO>ATY 

Chaplain of "Our Second Battalion." 



FISMES 89 

After the railroad was crossed instead of 
facing due north, as the line had on the south- 
ern side of the railroad, the line was stretched 
out in the woods, the Bois d' Chateau Diabl, 
facing due East, with Company G on the ex- 
treme right at the edge of the woods. An old 
and narrow road ran right beside the Southern 
bank of the railroad and the woods were on the 
Northern side of the road. The platoons of 
Company H were on the left of Company G 
and the platoons of Company F on the left of 
Company H. 

Sergeant Thompson went to Captain Schlos- 
ser and obtained permission to take a squad 
out and capture the machine gun which was 
still covering the railroad while Company H 
was getting across it. The squad started 
through the woods in skirmish formation. 
When the edge of the woods was reached, Ser- 
geant Thompson found that Sam Saplio, a 
Greek, w^ho had served in the Balkan War and 
had scars on his back from knife wounds in 
that war, was the only man still with him. 

At the edge of the woods they ran into a 
sw^amp with grass almost up to their chins. 
Fifty feet in front of them they could see the 
three Germans operating the machine gun 
they were after, and about ten feet to their 
left, towards another stretch of woods, there 
were about fifty German soldiers with their 
packs on their backs and their rifles in their 



90 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

hands, lining up in column of squads. An 
officer had his blouse off and was wearing a 
white shirt. 

Thompson and Saplio got about five paces 
apart and as they started down through the 
swamp, they began a rapid fire at the machine 
gunners. The machine gun was turned from 
its course of firing on the railroad and thrown 
into the swamp in the direction of the two 
Americans. Notwithstanding this heavy ma- 
chine gun fire, Thompson and Saplio kept ad- 
vancing, firing at the gun and the men who 
were lined up. As soon as they fired on the 
fifty men, three or four of them fell and the 
rest ran for the woods just ahead of them. The 
officer in the white shirt was one of those 
wounded. One of the men at the machine gun 
fell over wounded and the other two left their 
gun and ran in the direction of the others. 
Thompson and Saplio then continued to fire 
on the fleeing Grermans until they were out of 
sight in the woods. 

They then glanced at the wounded Germans 
to see that they were not armed and looked 
into the numerous dugouts along the side of 
the railroad bank and saw some more wounded 
Germans and a few dead ones. They then pro- 
ceeded along the railroad and captured nine 
more machine guns. They turned around and 
went back to the first machine gun. Sergeant 
Thompson found there was about a half of a 



FISMES 91 

machine gun belt in the gun. He switched the 
gun around and fired that belt and some more 
in the direction of the woods where the Ger- 
mans had disappeared, playing a sweeping fire 
all through the woods. 

When the ammunition was exhausted, 
Thompson went bad?: and reported to Captain 
Schlosser, and the rest of the line advanced 
across the swamp and into the woods and then 
as they were going across another clearing, 
the enemy put down a barrage and our own 
artillery did the same, Maurice Lazar, John 
B. Zmudzinski and John Skalsiky of Company 
G being killed instantly by pieces of shells. 
Walter J. Diitcher was also wounded and put 
on a stretcher and while being carried back 
was hit again. He was hit again in another 
battle and died from the wounds. 

The two barrages forced the line back to its 
original position, which it held until the next 
morning. 

For their work in capturing the ten machine 
guns, both Sergeant Thompson and Saplio 
were honored with the Distinguished Service 
Cross. Thompson also got a Croix de Guerre, 
and as soon as recommendations could be 
made for field commissions he was recom- 
mended for a field commission for gallantry in 
action. Pending the granting of this Com- 
mission he was sent to the Army Candidates 
School, which began the latter part of the war, 



92 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

but he was deprived of receiving a commission 
on account of the Armistice being signed at 
that time. 

After Captain Schlosser had taken his Com- 
pany and the two platoons of Company H and 
the two platoons of Company F across the 
railroad and into position to advance, Captain 
Clarke ordered Captain Cain to take the re- 
maining two platoons from H Company and 
the other two platoons of Company F and ad- 
vance parallel with the railroad between the 
railroad and the Vesle River in conjunction 
\\dth the troops on the northern side of the 
railroad. They proceeded about three hun- 
dred yards and then crossed an open place 
and reached another stretch of woods. They 
then came to another clearing, which was 
about two hundred yards wide and upon en- 
tering a second stretch of woods they ran into 
heavy flanking fire from the opposite side of 
the railroad embankment, where the Germans 
were entrenched. Nevertheless, the men kept 
advancing, capturing mac^hine guns as they 
did so, and inflicting heavy casualties on the 
Germans, but the Germans outnumbered the 
Americans and not being able to overcome the 
flanking fire, Captain Clarke ordered the men 
to withdraw to their original positions. It 
was impossible for them to go back the way 
they had come on account of the enemy^s 
strong fire, but it was up to each man himself 



FISMES 93 

to get away from those woods and back to the 
place from which he had started. 

Captain Cain and First Sergeant Raymond 
C. Reisker, of Company H, took it upon them- 
selves to cut an opening through the heavy 
barbed wire entanglements which were along 
the river bank, in order to make an opening 
for the men to go through to reach the Vesle 
Eiver. After a short time, an opening was 
made and the men started to jump into the 
River in bunches and swim down it to their 
original position for protection in the woods. 

While the men were in the River, an enemy 
aeroplane came over and seeing the men 
swimming, immediately signalled for a gas 
attack. The gas attack followed, causing 
many of our men to be gassed because their 
gas masks were ruined by getting wet while 
in the River. 

While Company E did not participate in 
this attack, it was having its own troubles. 
After being shelled most of the night with gas 
shells, it moved down to the bottom of the hill 
early in the morning and went over the open 
fields through more shelling, until it reached 
a gully. Three platoons remained in this 
gully while one platoon was sent out on patrol 
duty. 

After accomplishing their particular mis- 
sion on this patrol, Corporal James F. Steven- 
son, James R. McKenney (who was later 



94 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

killed) and George C. Yerkins returned to 
the river bank and. while being observed and 
while the enemy were dropping shells all 
around them, these three men got into a skiff 
and drifted down the Vesle River, while the 
rest of Company E started to run down the 
railroad tracks. While leading the men along 
this railroad track, 1st Lieut. Ralph S. Busch 
was instantly killed. They got to the woods 
just as the men from Companies F and H 
were swimming down the River. That night, 
Company E moved across the railroad and up 
over the hill, where they took a position on the 
extreme left of the line, taking part in the gen- 
eral attack the next morning. 

Captain Dunlap had been ordered to recon- 
noiter the position we had taken over the 
previous night and the attack had started im- 
mediately upon his reaching the line. During 
the barrage which forced our line back. Cap- 
tain Dunlap was knocked over three or four 
times l^rom shells exploding near him, but 
he got back to his feet each time and, after 
much difficulty, finally got the line organized 
again. 

At about three o^clock the next morning 
when the Germans were shelling the woods 
again. Captain Clarke of Company F was 
sitting in a little foxhole he had dug himself. 
It became so terrific that Captain Clarke 
called his First Sergeant, Frank M. Stanley, 



FISMES 95 

over to his foxhole and told him to report to 
Captain Schlosser and find ont if Company F 
could not be withdrawn further back in the 
woods into a less exposed position. As he was 
in the act of giving this order, with Stanley 
kneeling at the side of the hole, an overhead 
shrapnel shell burst immediately above them. 
Shrapnel and pieces of the shell fell in all di- 
rections, one piece of the shell striking Cap- 
tain Clarke under the left armpit and wound- 
ing him very severely. Another piece of the 
shell killed Corporal Ernest Phillips and 
wounded Lewis Wilham. 

Stanley reached for his first aid bandage at 
once but found that he had none, but he lost 
no time in getting over to his buddy, Matthew 
Turner, and Bugler Eli Pickell and between 
the three of them they bandaged Captain 
Clarke up and sent for a first-aid man, who 
came and put some more bandages on him. 
The Company had several stretchers with them 
and five men volunteered to carry their 
wounded Captain back. As soon as the first- 
aid man had finished working on Captain 
Clarke, the five volunteers started out, while 
the Germans were simply deluging the woods 
with high explosives and gas shells all the 
time. As he was being carried away. Captain 
Clarke looked at Stanley and said : *^Stanley 
get word back to Captain Schlosser to get the 
men out of this hole.'^ :N'otwithstanding all 



96 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

this shelling, the men kept on and on and 
finally reached the Battalion Dressing Station, 
from which the Captain was sent on back to 
the Regimental Dressing Station. Word was 
received a few days later that Captain Clarke 
had reached the 112th Field Hospital at Cohan 
and had died there. He was huried on the side 
of the hill beside the road a short distance 
from the hospital. 

After Captain Clarke was carried away. 
Captain Cain assumed command of the entire 
front line, with Captain Schlosser in com- 
mand of all the troops of "Our Second Bat- 
talion'' and the troops who had been sent in 
on our left Hank. 

A general attack of the entire front line, 
with no supporting troops, was started early 
Sunday morning, and, even though stiff re- 
sistance was met, the line kept advancing 
for about three hours when a long washout 
of the railroad was reached. The objective 
set for the attack was still a few hundred feet 
ahead. The objective was reached and the 
line advanced about a hundred yards further, 
w^hen the troops were forced to withdraw to 
along this washout because of the heavy ma- 
chine gun fire from the enemy. 

Discouraging reports about the condition 
of the line and of our troops were being re- 
ceived by Captain Cain. He received a mes- 
sage from Captain Dunlap asking him about 



FISMES 97 

the situation, and Captain Cain dictated a 
message to First Sergeant Reisker, who wrote 
it on his pad on his knee while in a crouched 
position. This message, written in this man- 
ner under the stress of the many difficulties, 
will ever remain one of the most cherished 
documents of "Our Second Battalion.'' It is 
a beautiful word picture of the spirit that 
animated our men, the spirit that has ever 
animated American troops from Washington 
to Pershing. It was as follows: "Send us 
ammunition, some grub, if possible, and we'll 
hold this line until hell freezes over." The 
line was held and, after the relief a few days 
later, Father Conaty told Captain Cain that 
there was no further need of Chaplains, as hell 
must surely have frozen over. 

About fifteen of our men were lying 
wounded in front of the washout. Unknown 
to very many of the men. First Sergeant 
Reisker proceeded to go out into the clearing 
through the machine gun fire and succeeded 
in bringing the fifteen men back and dressing 
their wounds himself under shelter of a leanto 
on the railroad, which had been used for haul- 
ing the German artillery over the railroad. 
For his action on this day, he was awarded 
the Distinguished Service Cross. He was also 
recommended for a Field Commission for Gal- 
lantry in Action and sent to the last Officers 
Training School, but like First Sergeant 



98 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

Thompson, he was deprived of his commission 
on account of the Armistice being signed be- 
fore the commission could be granted him. 

After he had led an automatic rifle squad 
to a house far in advance of the line, First 
Sergeant Benjamin C. Praeger of Company 
E, otlierwise known as ^^Old Reliable," ex- 
posed himself by standing beside this house 
and while doing so, was shot in the side. 

At about three o'clock that afternoon, the 
entire front line withdrew about one hundred 
and fifty yards preparatory to an artillery 
barrage. Here they dug in and held the posi- 
tion until relieved by part of the 77th Division 
on Tuesday night, the 12th. Our men couldn't 
withdraw that night because it was too late 
but they took up reserve positions for the next 
day and on Wednesday night marched back 
through heavy shelling, in which Lieut. Frank 
Batta and Sergeant Harry C. Cole of Com- 
pany G, and Bennett L. Sebolt of Company 
E, were wounded. After marching nearly all 
night, the Battalion reached La Garenne, 
where it was to await further orders. 

On Sunday night. Corporal Raymond G. 
Rowbottom of Company E, and Corporal 
James D. Moore, of Company G, were in a 
little house ahead of the lines, when the Ger- 
mans sent a flare into the house, setting it on 
fire. The flame gave the enemy full Yiew of 
our position, and Corporals Rowbottom and 



FISMES 99 

Moore realizing this, started to put out the 
flame by tearing' away the lattice work and 
throwing water from their canteens on it. As 
soon as they started to do this, the enemy ma- 
chine gunners and snipei'^ opened fire on them, 
but they continued their efforts until the fire 
was extinguished. They were both awarded 
the Distinguished Service Cross for this 
action. 

On Sunday, after the objective was reached, 
Essias E. Hagstrom, of Company G, was at 
an advance listening point, w^hen lie was hit 
in the stomach by a sniper. He started tO' run 
back but had gone only a short distance, when 
he fell dead. He was buried close to the rail- 
road and opposite the Bois de Chateau Diabl. 

When the line w^as going across a clearing 
and was advancing through the woods in line 
of skirmishers, John Signrolla was hit in the 
stomach v/ith a machine gun bullet, falling 
dead instantly. Henry G. Sumnerfield, who 
was rig^ht beside John G. Dontrick, w^as hit 
with a machine gun bullet, dying instantly, as 
well as Giovanni Camalie, who w^as a little dis- 
tance from Sergeant Frank McNealy. All 
three of these men were buried where they fell. 

Of Company E, Henry J. Becker was 
wounded severely and died several hours 
later; Albert Fisher died about an hour after 
he was wounded. His last words were ^^What 
will become of my children" ? Thomas Herron 



100 OUR SECOND BATTALION 



was killed instantly, and Corporal Clifton M. 
Casey was killed almost instantly while at- 
tempting to throw a bomb into a German dug- 
out. First Sergeant Praeger was beside him 
when he was hit, and all he said was "Benny, 
they got me.'' Vernon C. Hoffman was in a 
sniper's position w^hen he was killed, and Cor- 
poral Clarence G. Schneider was killed by a 
sniper while he was attempting to obtain some 
German bombs. 

Corporal Milo C. Whitehill and Norman C. 
Pfleger, of Company F, were also among those 
killed. John C. Pressman was last seen while 
advancing towards the enemy under a Germau 
barrage. 

Of Company H, Ellsworth K. Davies was 
gassed with mustard gas and taken to the 
110th Field Hospital, where he died on Au- 
gust 15th. Frank J. Barnes was found dead 
by Sergeant George J. Randle and others un- 
der artillery and machine gun fire, he being 
shot through the heart. Dominico Petrarola 
was shot through the head with a machine gun 
bullet, and Albert Watson was shot near the 
heart by a sniper. 

Those of Company E, who were wounded 
at Fismes were 2nd Lieut. Frank W. Mehrten, 
First Sergeant Benjamin Praeger, Dale S. 
Boyle, Corporal Clarence D. Manuel, Sergeant 
Rowland C. Carter (shell shocked and gassed), 
Tom Kelly, Sergeant Robert A. Robinson, 



FISMES 101 

Clifford E. Yerkins, Corporal Homer J. Car- 
ter, Corporal James Caldron, Howard A. Dun- 
bar, Cloyd Gates, Edward F. Hermann, Ralph 
L. Mallory, Corporal Gustav F. Miehe, John 
Dignon (machine gun bullet), Corporal Claud 
J. Koontz, Corporal George F. Wagner, Ser- 
geant David A. Dilworth, (shell shocked), 
and Nelson J. Brown. Tom Smith and Gerald 
A. Gagle, who had distinguished themselves 
for their braivery as stretcher bearers, es- 
pecially at Crezancy on July 16th, were also 
wounded. 

Of Company F, the following men were 
wounded: Michael J. Durkin, Sergeant Ray- 
mond Leppold, Guy Paul, Antonio Sergi, Gui- 
seppi Brienza, Andrew Frew, Thomas Milli- 
gan, Thomas M. Martin, Corporal Allen G. 
Harley, Antonio Skronski^ Corporal Frank J. 
Rusch, Andrew Lott, Roy Troop, Corporal Al- 
bert A. Murray, Everrett R. Trakey and Ar- 
thur J. Palmer. 

1st Lieut. William J. Schaal, of Company 
E, who was the Scout Officer at this time was 
gassed so badly that he never returned to the 
Regiment. 1^ Lieut. Howard Mellinger, of 
Company F, succeeded Lieut. Schaal, and he 
was also gassed, as was also Battalion Ser- 
geant Major George W. Cooper. 

Lieut. Hany A. Kurtz, 2nd Lieut. Athol G. 
Vadakin, First Sergeant Raymond C. Reisker, 
Mechanic Francis J. Cunningham, Logan J. 



102 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

Frederick and William F. Oaputo of Company 
H were wounded and Charles Bongiomo was 
killed. 

Of Company G, the following were 
wounded: Sergeant Raymond Long, Sergeant 
George M. Atkinson, Sergeant John H. Opper- 
man, Corporal John C. Large, Henry J. Camp- 
bell, John L. Black, Nick Bradley, Corporal 
Raymond L. Rutherford, Louis A. Bregan, 
John Caquatto, Stefano Dematus, Harry A. 
Mariani, John Rerahack, Richard Simpson, 
Theodore E. Walters, Robert G. Weckerly and 
James West. 



CHAPTEIR IX. 

THE LINE OF RESISTANCE. 

THE next night (the 14th) we moved l)ack 
^ over a couple of hills and reached the 
woods north of Arcis-le-Ponsart. We lay on 
the sides of two hills here with our kitchens 
at the bottom. Not far away from us were 
some guns of the 55th Coast Artillery Corps, 
whose fire kept us company the entire time we 
were there. The enemy shelled the woods 
every night and morning. During the shell- 
ing one morning a sihell exploded not far from 
where our Mail Corporal, Harold Zulauf, was 
wrapped in a blanket with two men from our 
Supply Company Detachment. The man next 
to Zulauf was hit with so many pieces of the 
shell that he died within a short time, while 
Zulauf escaped wdth only part of one of his 
large toes blown off, he never going to the 
hospital, but stayed with us, getting treat- 
ment from the first-aid men. 

Captain Dunlap had received his majority 
upon his return from the Fismes fight and 
was now wearing his golden leaf. On Sunday 
night we got orders to move again, but before 
all the packs were rolled the order was can- 
celled and we remained on the hills for an- 
other night. 



104 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

On Monday, the 19th, which was a fine 
moonlight night, we made up our packs after 
supper, and a little after eight we started to 
cross the fields and go over the hills until we 
reached the side of a hill three-quarters of 
a kilometre northeast of Dravegny. There 
were numerous little dugouts on this hill, but 
the ground was very sandy and it was difficult 
to prevent the sand from falling down. 

Our division retained the Fismes sector and 
began to establish a line of resistance, that 
is, while some troops were holding Fismes and 
the sector right of Fismes, thus preventing the 
enemy from making any attacks towards us, 
trenches were begun to be dug a short dis- 
tance behind Fismes. It was said that Fismes 
was expected to be another Chateau Thierry, 
and our position had to be organized along 
that place. Each battalion of the two regi- 
ments of our brigade was to take its turn 
in Fismes of four-day stretches. The 112th 
Infantry was now doing its tour of duty and 
the men of our regiment were being sent up 
each night to dig these trenches and rest in 
the day. However, there was very little rest 
to be obtained, for the weather was so warm 
and the flies so numerous that it was 
practically impossible to get any sleep in the 
daytime. 

On Tuesday we were fortunate in having 
the Y. M. C. A. bring up a good deal of eats 



THE LINE OF RESISTANCE 105 

for US, each company succeeding in buying 
enough cookies and cakes, cigarettes, smoking 
tobacco, cigars and chewing tobacco for all 
of their men. The Red Cross truck came up 
also that afternoon and distributed maga- 
zines, smoking and chewing tobacco and cigar- 
ettes to all of the companies. The magazines 
especially were appreciated, for we were in a 
position where we could lie in our holes and 
read them during the day and not be afraid 
we might be observed by the enemy. Our 
kitchens were located in a little stretch of 
woods about four hundred yards from the bot- 
tom of the hill, so we had very little distance 
to go for our meals. 

We were shelled quite a little in this posi- 
tion, but we had reasonably good protection 
on account of being on the offside of the hill 
furthest away from the enemy. Early Friday 
morning, just after we had returned from 
w^orking on the trenches, the shelling began 
again, one shell hitting a tree about four feet 
from its base, around wliich the men of Com- 
pany G were lying. One piece of the shell 
hit hetw^een the dugouts of William D. Wine- 
brenner and Lawrence Lescanac, killing 
Lescanac instantly and wounding Sergeant 
Francis J. Hans, Corporal George Hindsley, 
Raymond R. Moser, John Williams, James R. 
Wood, James D. Moore and others, Frank 
A. Long dying a little later from his Avounds. 



106 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

As soon as the shell hit, Edwin B. Meese, of 
Company G, one of the battalion runners, 
started off on a run and kept running until 
he reached Regimental Headquarters, nearly 
a kilometre away, where he succeeded in get- 
ting an ambulance to come and evacuate the 
wounded men to the hospital. There was a 
plane overhead while this shelling was going 
on, and for a while many thought that we had 
been bombed, but a close examination the next 
morning disclosed the fact that it couldn't 
X>ossibly have been a bomb on account of it 
hitting the tree the way it did. 

That night Father Conaty, who had been 
sleeping in the cave at the top of the hill with 
the rest of Battalion Headquarters, said that 
it was getting too stuffy in the cave and he 
was going to sleep outside, so he took his 
blanket and started for the top of the hill. 
Just as he reached there the Germans began 
to send some shells over at us, and a few of 
them hit not far from where he had figured 
on sleeping that night. He didn't go any 
further, but turned around and came back to 
the cave, saying that he had decided not to 
take a chance outside that night. 

On Friday and Saturday we got some more 
mail, and on Sunday morning Father Conaty 
said Mass in the woods where the kitchens 
were located. In the afternoon all of our bat- 
talion went back to Abbe d' Igny, about four 



THE LINE OF RESISTANCE 107 

kilometres in our rear, and there we got a hot 
shower bath, new summer underwear and our 
clothes put through a steam "de-cootiezer^' 
while we bathed. There was also a swimming 
jK>ol here, where many of us took a swim. A 
Y. M. C. A. was statdoned here, where we had 
lots of reading matter and music. This was 
August 25th and was the first chance we had 
to get a bath since we were lying along the 
Marne between the 5th and 8th of July. 

On Monday night at 9:30 we moved from 
our position on the side of this hill, and after 
cutting across the hill we reached a camou- 
flaged road which led into St. Gilles and then 
into Fismes. We moved up the road until we 
were just a short distance southwest of the 
town of St. Gilles, Vhere the different com- 
panies were scattered about in the immediate 
vicinity of the road and Battalion Headquar- 
ters went into dugouts just alongside of the 
road. Our kitchens didn't move up with us 
this time, so the rations were brought up to 
us on the ration wagons only at night and 
early in the morning all the time we lay here. 

On Wednesday the shelling began to get 
very bad around us, and from that time on it 
continued at different intervals. They were 
all big shells, for we were still a few kilo- 
metres behind Fismes and as soon as the shell- 
ing began we all took to our dugouts. The 
enemy sent over a quite a little bit of gas at 



108 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

US here also, the worst attack being Thurs- 
day night, when we had to keep our masks 
on nearly all night. 

We had carried some of the magazines up 
with us that the Red Cross had given us while 
in the former position. The days were real 
hot August days, and had the Germans not 
shelled us so often we would have spent a 
restful time in this position, with a little read- 
ing now and then as a diversion. We were 
now beginning to long for more mail, and as 
soon as the ration wagons came our first ques- 
tion would be, "Is there any mail?" but we 
did not get any until Friday night, and then, 
because of the darkness, we were not able to 
read it until the next morning. 

The Third Battalion of our regiment moved 
up past us that night and took over the Fismes 
sector once again. We knew that in four days 
it would be our turn, and then after the First 
Battalion had done its turn we felt sure that 
we would be relieved. Every day we got our 
usual amount of shelling, and not until Mon- 
day morning (Labor Day, September 2nd) 
did we have any of our men killed. That 
morning Corporal John P. Flynn of Company 
H was hit and killed instantly at about 10:15 
and was buried that afternoon by Chaplain 
Keith. S. Walter Stull of Company F was 
also wounded that morning. 

On Wednesday, immediately after darkness 



THE LINE OF RESISTANCE 109 

had fallen, we moved from our position along 
the road to St. Gilles, through that town and 
over the fields until we reached a point about 
one-half of a kilometre southeast of Fismes. 
During the first part of the march it rained, 
but by the time we reached our destination it 
had ceased and we were able to lie down in 
something other than mud this time. We lay 
that night along the side of a road, and 
early the next morning we moved to the side 
of a hill about fiive hundred yards away, and 
there we leveled off places and erected our 
tents. The wagon train had moved up dur- 
ing the night, but they were unable to pre- 
pare breakfast right away and we did not get 
a meal until about noon. 

About noon we learned that our Third Bat- 
talion had captured Fismes and that the 
enemy was retreating towards the Aisne and 
that in all probability we would follow them. 
While waiting for orders to proceed, a German 
flame thrower, which had just been captured 
in Fismette, was brought up to the Colonel. 
At about the same time some rations came in, 
as well as a certain amount of canned heat or 
solidified alcohol. It was the first time our 
regiment had ever been issued this, and before 
the companies had time to distribute it among 
the men orders came in to move at once. 

"Our Second Battalion" was the advance 
guard in this march, during which we went 



110 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

through the demolished toiwn of Fisines and 
then proceeded eastwardly up the Rheims 
Road until almost near Villette, when we 
crossed the Vesle River and again travelled in 
an easterly direction. Every here and there, 
along the Rheims Road, we passed dead Amer- 
icans. In the woods at the end of a certain 
bridge, there were quite a few dead Americans 
in all kinds of conditions. 

When we started, our mission was to fill up 
a gap between the right of the 55th Brigade 
and the left of some French troops. During 
a short rest Major Dunlap received a message 
from the Colonel that a counter-attack was 
expected from Romain by way of Grand 
Hameau, and for him to proceed with "Our 
Second Battalion" with all possible dispatch 
to connect up with the American right flank 
to repel any counter-attack that might take 
place. So, again, the march was started and 
this time with more speed. 

In a little while we left this road and then 
started up through a ravine. After we left 
the road numerous gas shells burst around us 
and we were obliged to adjust our masks quite 
frequently. We were going as fast as we pos- 
sibly could, for it was getting late and we 
wanted to get into position before dark. 
From the ravine we went through the woods, 
through some swamps, and finally one of our 
patrols reached some part of the 55th Brigade, 



THE LINE OF RESISTANCE HI 

At 8:06 P. M., after dusk had fallen, we 
reached the bottom of a plateau just north 
of Courlandon, where the Major dictated the 
message to the Colonel telling him that we 
had connected up with both lines on our right 
and left and that a French Captain was mak- 
ing a disposition of our troops. Companies 
F and H were stretched out in the front line 
under command of Captain Cain, and the 
other two companies were put in support along 
the side of the hill just below the beginning 
of the plateau. After the troops were placed 
Lieutenant Dickson was sent back personally 
by the Major to report to the Colonel. 

During the night the enemy sent over some 
shells, which hit in our position and made us 
take a little better cover for protection. 



CHAPTER X. 
COURLANDON. 

NO ONE in ^^Our Second Battalion'^ will 
ever forget the afternoon of Friday, Sep- 
tember 6th, on Fismes Heights, or just north 
of Courlandon. It was the bloodiest after- 
noon the battalion ever had, and the attack 
was one of the most brilliant, grandest and 
noblest attacks in which "Our Second Bat- 
talion'^ had the honor to participate. Out- 
side of the men who were on guard at differ- 
ent intervals along the crest of the plateau 
the rest of the men were lying on the side of 
the hill in the hot sun, taking it easy and wait- 
ing for rations to come up to them. 

At exactly 12 :45 P. M., while all the Com- 
pany Commanders were down over the hill a 
couple hundred feet talking of different things 
with Major Dunlap and Lieutenant Dickson, 
the following order to attaek at 1:02 was re- 
ceived : 

"From No. 1 Solo. 

At 288-209.3. 

Date, 6 September, 1918. Hour, 12:15. 

No. 2. Runner. To C. O., 111th Inf. 

We advance, general attack at 1 o'clock. 
Artillery preparation begins at 12:56, prog- 
ress of the attack 100 metres to 4 minutes, at 



COURLANDON 113 

first line on the crest of the hill running north- 
east and southwest, the crest being immedi- 
ately in jour front, halt 30 minutes'for cover- 
ing fire on that line. Next advance to he at 
100 metres in five minutes, next line halt 
about one kilometre in advance on a parallel 
line through Le Grand Hameau and co- 
ordinate 290-210. Halt on this line for one 
hour, with coivering artillery fire for the en- 
tire line, then progress at "^ the rate of 100 
metres in 5 minutes, following the artillery 
barrage as far as possible. I am directed by 
the Brigade Commander to call on you for 
one battalion of two companies in the first 
line and two in support and keep in contact 
with the French on your right. Answer. 

Ham^ GoloneV 

The Company Commanders immediately 
hurried back to their respective commands 
and ordered the men to get ready for an at- 
tack. There was no time to lose. ^ Every man 
jumped to his place, quickly adjusted his 
pack, grabbed his rifle and was ready for the 
word to go "Over the Top.*' At 12:56 our 
barrage started, and at exactly 1:02 "Our 
Second Battalion^' leaped over the crest of the 
plateau and our worst and final attack in the 
Chateau Thierry Drive was begun. Captain 
Cain was in command of the front line, con- 
sisting of Companies F and H, and one 
platoon of the Machine Gun Company, under 



114 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

Lieutenant Daniel W. Brooks, while Captain 
Schlosser was in command of Companies E 
and G, with another platoon of the Machine 
Gun Company under Lieutenant Edwey Z. 
Wainwright. 

The whole line advanced at the same time, 
the 109th Infantry being on our left and some 
French troops on our right. No sooner had 
the attack started than our line was caught 
with machine gun fire from all points. The 
enemy batteries opened up counter-battery 
work and simply showered the advancing 
ranks with shells, but our batteries kept tiring 
just as hard, if not harder. Sergeant John P. 
Morris of Company H was hit with a piece of 
shrapnel in his leg while he was in the act of 
capturing a machine gun nest and nine Ger- 
mans, two of whom were wounded. First Ser- 
geant Raymond C. Reisker of Company H was 
shot through the calf of his leg with a machine 
sgun bullet and hobbled back to the side of the 
hill. Neither one of these two Sergeants 
would leave the Line and go to the hospital. 

Aeroplanes came over and flew close to the 
attacking men, as their machine guns opened 
fire on them. While heroically leading "Our 
Second Battalion'^ through the hell it was 
meeting. Captain Cain was hit in the right 
shoulder by machine gun bullets and carried 
severely wounded to the rear. Captain Pol- 
lock, commanding the two platoons of the Ma- 



COURLANDON 115 

chine Gun Company was carried back mortally 
wounded in the spine. Corporal Alvin Fer- 
guson of Company H w^as shot through both 
legs with machine gun bullets, Archie Mnk 
and Albert Heimann of the same Company 
being hit also. James Fox of H Company was 
shot through the knee w^hile Corporal Joseph 
R. Forniby of that company was shot through 
the head and face and while lying on the field 
wounded, was hit again. Lieut. Fred W. 
Klingensmith, who had been with Company 
II, but w^ho had gone over with Company F, 
had both his legs broken with machine gun 
bullets while Lieut. Thomas A. Merryweather, 
commanding that company, had a machine gun 
bullet go through his wrist. This left Com- 
pany F with only one officer, Lieut. Marcel von 
Beregy, who had received his commission on 
the previous Wednesday. Then First Sergeant 
Stanley of F Company was hit in the head 
above the right ear with a machine gun bullet. 
After the Germans had stubbornly resisted 
for nearly an hour, and "Our Second Battal- 
ion-^ kept going steadily forward through the 
deluge of machine gun and shell fire, the Ger- 
mans made strong counter-attacks and so 
strong were they made that the French on our 
right fell back. This left our right flank open 
and the enemy took good advantage of it, but 
not a man of "Our Second Battalion" would 
give in one single inch. Through the brave 



116 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

efforts of Lieut. Brooks and his platoon of ma- 
chine gunners, machine guns were placed in 
position and the German counter-attack re- 
pulsed, but it was done at the cost of the lives 
of Lieut. Brooks himself, Corporal Clyde T. 
Seeman, Edward F. Faigley and Richard P. 
Woodward, and many severely wounded. 

The First Battalion was brought up to us 
as our support. The French came back to the 
line again and the attack was repeated and 
little by little the Germans were pushed back 
and back for over a kilometre, when our Line 
got orders to "dig in'' for the night. 

Lieut, von Beregy was lying in a little hole 
which he had dug himself, with his company 
in back of him. He gave the arm signal to 
move forward and the next moment, as he 
started to raise himself up, he was shot through 
the head by a sniper and died instantly. 

Lieut. Davenport of the Scouts had a ma- 
chine gun bullet graze his left side and after 
taking the bullet out of the shirt and having 
his wound bandaged up he rushed back to the 
Line. 

Of Company H the following men were 
killed : Clarence Bucklew and Thomas A. Flan- 
nery ; Paul L. Geissenheimer, shot through the 
head; Sergeant Robert J. Lean and Sergeant 
Floyd E. Ross, and Vasily Mozako died in the 
hospital from wounds received there. 

Elia Atriana of Company G, who had just 



COURLANDON 117 

returned from the hospital, was digging in 
when he was hit in the head with a machine 
gun bullet. He was carried back to the dress- 
ing station at Battalion Headquarters, where 
he died. 

In another part of our line, Warren Keiser 
was digging in beside Morlan H. Buck, when 
he was hit with machine gun bullets in both 
legs. All he said was, "I am shot,'' and died 
almost instantly. 

Wallace Pool of Company G was beside By- 
ron A. Cornell digging in when a shell hit 
close to him and a piece of shrapnel struck him 
in the back. Pool said "they got me,'' and died. 

William Barclay and Merritt E. Montgom- 
ery, of Company E, were killed during the 
attack. 

Corporal Charles H. Rouch, Henry Coester, 
Benjamin Cook, Thomas Bradley, Sergeant 
George W. Kelly, wounded in the leg; Sergeant 
Robert A. Robinson, Joseph H. Flynn, Chester 
C. Wheeler, Corporal John P. Munro, Arnold 
O. Krebs, hit with shrapnel and machine gun 
bullet in left wrist and arm ; Corporal William 
T. Weist, Dale S. Boyle, Raymond D. Heaton, 
Sergeant William A. Whiteside, and Jack K. 
Nolan, of Company E, were also among the 
wounded. 

Of Company H, the following were wounded : 
Sergeant Robert C. Jones, hit with machine 
gun bullet in the neck and arms; Sergeant 



118 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

Paul L. Wetzel, Thomas J. Flannery, John 
Bertron, Jesse A. Blakeley, Leo A. Boalo, Gio- 
vanni Borgi, Walter W. Dowler, David Cor- 
nish, hit in the left foot with a machine gnn 
bullet, Charles W. Mason, George A. Mitchell, 
Charles Soules, Royal Dunmeyer and Sergeant 
James H. Lindsay, hit in the leg. 

The following men from Company F were 
wounded, most all of them being hit with 
machine gun bullets, during the advance, and 
had to ibe evacuated to the hospital, some of 
them in very bad condition: Sergeant Harry 
K. Hall, Sergeant Kurt B. Nelson, John G. 
Frank, John Yanno, Corporal John Flaherty, 
Corporal Reeves W. Hendershot, Daniel P. 
McCormick, Stanley L. McDowell, Mechanic 
William M. Remus, William McCaffery, Cor- 
poral Leroy H. Wallace, Hugh P. Porter, 
George K. Rodenbaugh, Mechanic Harry Mil- 
ler, Corporal William V. Hull, Clarence C. 
Lee, Frederick G. Steinger, Mechanic Frank 
W. Keenan, James Longstreth, Joseph J. 
Ferry, Nicolay Bokunow, Harlan J. Noblit, 
William J. Jones, Corporal Joseph VanFos- 
sen, and Gustav Gonsuron. George Messina 
was hit with a bursting shell and died. 

Some of the men killed from Company F 
were Sergeant James H. Beasley, Lee M. Fos- 
ter, Sergeant James P. Herron, Corporal Har- 
old E. Kelly, John F. Ley, Sergeant Harry Mc- 
Laughlin, Corporal John G. Pedicord, Cor- 



COURLANDON 119 

poral Thomas B. Robinson and Harold C. 
Todd, all by machine grin bullets. Bryan J. 
Clugston was hit with a hi^h explosive and 
died. 

David H. Slagle was hit with a machine gun 
bullet. He lay in such a position that it was 
impossible to get to him on account of the 
intense machine gun fire. Two men were 
killed attempting to reach him. When dark- 
ness came, four or five hours after he was hit, 
we reached him but he was dead. 

Of Company G, the following men were 
wounded: Corporal John Walters, Russel 
Trauger, Frank W. Gilmore, Thomas A. Scott, 
Jacob Trauger, and Sergeant Frederick S. 
Wertenbach. 

When the attack started, Major Dunlap 
moved his headquarters to the summit of the 
hill but the fire from the enemy's artillery was 
so hot that they had to move down over the 
hill for a little protection. The wounded were 
more than numerous. They continued to be 
brought back and some dragged themselves 
back. Everybody at Battalion Headquarters 
was busy attending to the wounded and dis- 
patching stretcher bearers away with the more 
seriously wounded. They all wanted to be 
taken away and it was no easy job trying to 
soothe them. The stretchers were limited and 
it was a long ways to where the ambulances 
were able to come, but the men were evacuated 



120 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

in the order of the seriousness of their wounds. 
Some of the more badly wounded ones died be- 
fore they could be put on a stretcher. Men 
who were able to walk with a little aid were 
given a willing hand and helped back to the 
Battalion Dressing Station. Stretchers were 
even made of blankets and shelter halves but 
still there was not enough to take care of the 
men. 

After the Third Battalion had arrived and 
moved up in close support of the Line, Colonel 
Shannon and Captain Gill came up to see what 
the situation was and after the Major had 
given them a full report, the Colonel told him 
that our Division was finally going to be re- 
lieved by a French Division and that we were 
tO' get a rest. He said that we were to be re- 
lieved the next night or the morning following 
and that he was going back to General Weigel 
and see if it couldn't possibly be made that 
night on account of the condition of the troops. 
The word soon spread among the troops and 
those of us who had been fortunate enough to 
escape being wounded or killed felt sad and 
glad both, sad because so many of our brave 
men had ibeen killed and so many wounded so 
shortly before our final relief in the Chateau 
Thierry Drive. 

That night Companies E and G moved ahead 
and took over the front line, while Companies 
F and H took the position formerly occupied 




CAPTAIN AKTin R T.. SCHf-OSSER. COMPANY G. 

Killed in Action September 29tli, 1918. 



COURLANDON 121 

by the other two companies. Men from Head- 
quarters Company were engaged in bringing 
up ammunition and rations. It was a long 
treacherous journey all the way up and very 
little of each could be brought up at a time. 

It was an afternoon never to be forgotten. 
Our casualties for that afternoon and the next 
day, when some more men were killed and 
wounded, were 30 men killed and 240 wounded, 
4 (Officers killed and 5 wounded, and 53 men 
missing (this including the men and officers 
from Machine Gun Company) . We were then 
on the Heights of the Aisne aud we felt that 
we had done our duty in the Chateau Thierry 
Drive. ^^Our Second Battalion'^ had the dis- 
tinction of being the first in action as a unit 
and also the last in action in our part of this 
drive. Perhaps it was due to Fate that this 
had happened, but however it was, we had the 
distinction and we were proud of it. 

After the attack, Major Dunlap received the 
following letter from the Captain who was 
commanding the French Battalion on our 
right : 

"Hill 180, 6th September, 1918. 
From : Captain Bucard, 2nd Cy. of 4th Kt. 
To: Major Dunlap, 111th R. I. U. S. 

1. I personally ask you, Major, permission 
to tell you how I have been happy and proud 
to go over the top with your valiant men. 
Their fearlessness of death and their gallantry 



122 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

have excited the greatest admiration of my 
brave soldiers. 

2. Many, alas ! of my officers and soldiers 
have fallen facing the Boche. Soon, I hope, 
we will together revenge them. 

3. The second Company of the 4th Infantry 
Regiment offer their comrades of the 111th 
R. I. U. S. his sincere felicitations and assure 
them of his deep sympathy. Please accept, 
Major, my profound respects. 

Captain M. Bucard.'' 

That night the enemy sent quite a number 
of shells over and were fortunate enough to 
hit an ammunition dump just behind the hill 
from where the attack had started, causing a 
large flare to show. Immediately, German 
aeroplanes were over looking for troops. They 
dropped a few bombs in our immediate vicinity 
but none of our men were hit. 

Gas shells were sent over also, but most of 
them went back of us and hit around Regi- 
mental Headquarters. It was during this 
night that our Regimental Chaplain, Michael 
W. Keith, was gassed so badly that he died in 
a few days. Many other men also around Regi- 
mental Headquarters were severely gassed. 
Our kitchens, which were a little in the rear 
of us, were also victims of the gas shells. Cook 
Alfred Anderson, Cook William A. Elliott, 
Cook William P. O'Dea, Cook Thomas J. 
Ward, Harry E. Andrews, Corporal Joseph 



COURLANDON 123 

W. Ward, Ernest Beach, James G. Lavery and 
Sergeant John F. Austen of Company H were 
gassed. Jaoob D. Ganger of Company F, 
Cooks Sherman T. Beatty, Irwin W. Evers- 
meir and Chester Friedman and James Mc- 
Granihan, Wiktor Monit, James J. Noon, Jr., 
Glenn W. Goodenow, Clarence L. Crusemire, 
Ernest J. Seib, and Mess Sergeant William 
Hopkins, of Company E, were also gassed. 
James R. McKenney of E Company took his 
gas mask off during this attack and gave it 
to one of the men who had been gassed. He 
ran around trying to administer to the gassed 
men and became so gassed himself that he died 
before he could be sent to the hospital. Every 
one of the bandmen, who were acting as 
stretcher bearers, and who had especially dis- 
tinguished themselves at Fismes for their brav- 
eiy, were gassed during this attack. 

The next morning the Germans put down a 
terrific barrage on our entire position at ^ye 
o^clock. It was thought sure that an attack 
would follow it but none came. During the 
day, the shelling continued, causing us some 
more casualties. 

Sergeant Albert Atkinson of Company G 
had remained at Battalion Headquarters over 
night and returned to his company at about 
nine o'clock. He came up to where Sergeant 
Frank McXealy was in a dugout and asked 
him if he could stay in with him. McNealv 



124 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

told him he certainly could and Sergeant At- 
kinson started to widen the dugout and just 
as he was throwing a shovelful of dirt out, he 
was hit by a sniper. All he said before he died 
was "They got me." 

In the afternoon, the enemy again put down 
a barrage on our Line. 

Corporal John W. Fackenthall, of Company 
G, who had just come back from the hospital, 
was hit in both legs with a large piece of shrap- 
nel, while he was lying in his hole. 

Corporal Edward Doyle, of the same com- 
pany, was killed with a piece of shrapnel hit- 
ting him in the head, while he was very jiear 
Greorge Clarke. Albert Brew^er w^as wounded 
and evacuated to the hospital, where he died. 
Jacob L. Hartman was in his dugout beside 
George Clark also, w^hen he was hit in the 
breast with a piece of shell and died instantly. 
George R. Wiood was near Andrew E. Smith 
when he w^as hit with overhead shrapnel and 
died instantly. Richard Simpson was also 
killed. 

Robert W. Penwell, a runner from Company 
H, but who was with his company at the time, 
was hit with overhead shrapnel and died. 

First Lieut. Louis H. Fielding, of Company 
E, had received notice of his promotion to the 
grade of Captain at about twelve-thirty the day 
before while he was assembled with the rest of 
the officers at Battalion Hadquarters. As the 



COURLANDON 125 

orders to attack were received fifteen minutes 
later, he had not time even to inform his men 
of the promotion. During the shelling that 
afternoon, he was mortally w^ounded by being 
hit in the back with a piece of overhead shrap- 
nel while he was lying in the hole which he had 
dug himself. He was carried to the rear im- 
mediately on a stretcher by four men from his 
Company and evacuated to the hospital, and 
a few days later the sad news of his death 
reached the men of his command. First Lieut. 
James C. Boden then assumed command of 
Company E and commanded that company 
until after the Armistice was signed. 

First Lieut. Phelps L. Gill assumed com- 
mand of Company H, upon Captain Cain being 
wounded, and remained in command of that 
Company until final demobilization and dis- 
charge. 



CHAPTER XI. 

RELIEVED AT LAST. 

THUS it was, on Sunday, September 8th, 
"■• after sixty-seven continuous days under 
enemy shell fire, holding down the Front Line 
on four different occasions and making suc- 
cessful attacks and advances each time, and 
suffering over fifty per cent, casualties, our 
Regiment (and in fact, the whole Division) 
was relieved by the 62nd French Division 
from its place in the Chateau Thierry Drive. 
"Our Second Battalion," and every unit of 
our Division, had made a record of which we 
had a right to feel proud. We had been highly 
commended by both French and American 
Generals, and felt that now we were to get 
that which was rightly due us — a rest in the 
rear. 

Shortly after darkness came on the night 
of the 7th, the Third Battalion moved out, fol- 
lowed shortly thereafter by the First Bat- 
talion, for they had been in reserve and sup- 
port respectively. At about ten o'clock, it 
started to rain but there was nothing for us 
to do but to sit there in the rain and await 
our relief. It continued to rain until about 
one o'clock and our relief had not shown up 
then. Men were despatched out around in the 
immediate vicinity to see if they could locate 



REIJEVED AT LAST 127 

the French troops but none were found. That 
niglit was one to be long- remembered by us, 
for it was dark and dreary after the rain, the 
air was chilled, and we were on the verge of 
our first big relief— the relief which would 
take us out of the fight temporarily at least 
Our artillery in back of us were firing away 
at intervals and the enemy was sending over 
some shells at us. They were also sending up 
quite a few flares, which lightened the place 
very much. 

A little after three o'clock we were very 
much surprised to see some French troops 
come down over the hill. Our relief at last! 
i he French Major was taken to where Maior 
Dunlap was located and gi^en all the neces- 
sary papers and information, while the com- 
panies were taken to the Line by the runners. 
At 6 :dO the Scouts and Battalion Headquar- 
ters, save Major Dunlap and Lieut. Dickson 
left the hill aud began to find their way back 
to the rear. The four companies followed just 
as soon as the French had taken over the posi- 
tion. ^ 

We started down over the hill in column of 
file and just seemed to dash down over that 
hill, for we were all in a hurry to get away 
After going through the woods for a while, 
we came to an open place. While going across 
this open place, the enemy put a barrage down 
but we managed to get every man over it with- 



128 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

out a casualty. It was almost daylight when 
we passed Regimental Headquarters and there 
was Colonel Shannon, the man who appar- 
ently never slept, standing in front of his little 
dugout, welcoming us back with his ever- 
welcome expression. It was an expression 
which did not have to be interpreted twice. 
It showed gladness and happiness for us who 
had been fortunate enough to come out of the 
Drive safely and were now to get a rest, and 
of sadness and sorrow for those who had been 
called upon to give their all. He asked where 
the Major was and we told him that he was 
coming with the rest of the Battalion. 

We then got on to the road we had travelled 
over three days before and while going along 
this road, the enemy started once again to 
Shell us. There were at least three columns 
of troops on the road, all going to the rear as 
fast as they could. When a shell would hit 
close by, we would have to either duck or fall 
to the road and when we got up again we 
were invariably in the wrong column and 
would have to get straightened out again. 
Frank M. Flack was wounded with shrapnel 
while going along this road. Once more we 
crossed the Vesle River at the same pla'ce as 
before and then went back to the position we 
had been in the week before along the road a 
short distance southwest of St. Grilles. 

As soon as the companies began to arrive, 



RELIBVBD AT LAST 129 

the cookers were started and in a short time 
we got a meal and some mail which had come 
in while we had been on the Line. Every Com- 
pany had suffered over sixty-five per cent, 
casualties in the last attack, but Company F 
had suffered the worst. All of their officers 
and Sergeants were either killed or wounded 
and the company was led back in comi^and of 
a Corporal. Out of ninety men from that 
Company, who went over the top at 1 o'clock 
Friday afternoon, but twenty of them were now 
left. Supply Sergeant Ozro N. Barclay then 
took command of the Company until liieut. 
Martsolf, who had been on special duty at 
Division Headquarters, hurried back to his 
Company and assumed command. 

On the left side of the road, in the direction 
of St. Gilles, a hill began to rise about one 
hundred feet from the road. On this hill, the 
men of Company E had constructed dugouts 
while here before and into them went the 
men who had come back safely. At the bot- 
tom of this hill, on the same side of the road, 
were two artillery guns, which fired 155's. 
Lloyd Ramsey and George W. Sincox of Com- 
pany E, who had gone through all the battles 
without getting wounded, were resting in 
their dugout on the extreme side of the hill, 
when one of the guns at the bottom of the hill 
was loaded and fired. Something must have 
happened in adjusting the range for instead 



130 OUR SECOND BATTAIJON 

of the gun firing over the hill, which it had 
always done, the shell hit the edge of the hill 
immediately on top of where Ramsey and Sin- 
cox were sitting, causing the earth to cave in 
on them. By the time the dirt was removed 
and their bodies reached, it was found that 
they were dead. 

We were told that we would leave that posi- 
tion about three o'clock the next (Monday) 
morning. In the evening we were only too 
glad to lie down again, knowing we would be 
awakened very shortly. At 2 :30 A. M., we 
were aAvakened and made up our packs and at 
three o'clock the Battalion was assembling 
on the road to meet the rest of the Regiment. 
A little further down the road we joined up 
with the rest of the Regiment and then pro- 
ceeded on our march to the rear. 

It is said that a Division, or even a Regi- 
ment, coming back from the Line after being 
relieved, is one of the saddest sights seen on 
the battle-fields. In our particular case, we 
cared not how we looked, even though our 
clothes were muddy and worn and shabby 
from the experiences we had had during the 
previous two months. No one was singing as 
we had done when we first went into action. 
Our thoughts were not so much on the rest 
we were to get in the back areas, as they were 
on our comrades who had fallen. Just a short 
time before, they had marched right alongside 



RELIEVED AT LAST 131 

of US, and now — ^they were no more. We knew 
that we were still alive, but we also knew that 
it was due to Him alone, who had watched 
over us and had saved us. Perhaps we, who 
were now marching along in silence in the 
darkness of the night, would be called to the 
Heavenly Home within a very short time and 
there united, once again, with our comrades 
who had gone before us. We knew not what 
the future held for us. We only knew that 
now we were still alive and the many strange 
and apparent miracles, which had saved our 
lives, each and every one of us knew best. 
After living in the proximity of death for such 
a long time and having seen it in so many 
shapes and forms, we had come to look in- 
differently at it. We knew that it had come to 
some of us there — was bound to happen to 
othei-s — and we might be the ones ju^, as well 
as the man next to us. But we were not afraid 
of it. If Death were to come to us, we would 
meet it as only true and good Americans could 
meet it, and if we were spared, it would be 
well. 

Such thoughts as these and many others 
flooded our minds on that sad and dreary 
march in the early hours of the morning — 
thoughts that would perhaps never ent^r our 
minds again, but they served well to cause us 
to reflect momentarily, at least. 



132 OUR SECOND BATTAUON 

Daylight came and we wound np over the 
road through Dravegny, down the hill and 
then up another hill past Cohan, where the 
112th Field Hospital was located. It seemed 
as though our march would never end. At 
aibout eight-thirty, we reached the woods 
around Albby d' Igny, where we had had a 
bath a few weeks before this. We had taken 
a roundabout way to get there, but now we 
had arrived and would remain there until the 
next day. 

Some erected shelter tents in the woods that 
day, but others neglected to do so. The men 
who did not put them up greatly regretted it 
that night, for at about eleven o'clock it 
started to rain very violently and continued 
to rain throughout the entire night. At four- 
thirty, everybody was aroused and the fires 
began to go in the cookers. We lost no time 
in getting around them and trying to get 
warm, even though it was still raining. 

A little after five o'clock, after we got break- 
fast, we started on our march again and it 
rained almost continuously until six o^clock 
that nigiht. After going a short distance, we 
began to come into ruins of little villages but 
only once or twice were we fortunate enough 
to be in one of these villages when our rest 
came. Once an old French woman was seen and 
all kinds of remarks were made and shouted 
at her, none of which she could under- 



RELIEVED AT LAST 133 

stand. She was about sixty-five years old and 
was the first woman we had seen for over two 
months, and such remarks as "Oh, you 
chicken," "Petite Mademoiselle,^^ and other 
similar expressions rang out from the march- 
ing column. The further back we marched, 
the more people we saw. We rested from one 
o^clock until two, while some other troops of 
the Division got ahead of us. Then we started 
off again and as we reached the top of the hill 
we had just ascended, we could see the River 
Marne in the distance. Going down through 
the valley towards the Marne, we heard the 
first train whistle we had heard for nearly 
three months, and though a French engine 
whistle is tame as compared to our own, it 
sounded very homelike to us and we remarked 
then that in a few days we would be riding on 
one of those trains. 

After crossing the Marne, we were held up 
for a few minutes while a freight train went 
by on the railroad. After that we proceeded 
in an easterly direction along the Paris road, 
along which the Germans had been checked 
in their last Offensive but a short time prev- 
ious. At one place, we saw the boats which 
the Germans had used in 1914 upon which they 
built their pontoon bridge across the River. We 
also saw a few German graves and these 
marked just about the furthest the Germans 
had advanced in 1914. 



134 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

At five-thirty, after marching a distance of 
thirty-two kilometres, we reached the Bois de 
la Boudel. It had rained practically all the 
time we were marching and was still raining 
when we got to the woods, but it stopped in 
about half an hour. First Sergeant Reisker, 
who had his body burned with mustard gas 
at Fismes and was shot through the leg \s4th 
a machine gun bullet at Courlandon, and Ser- 
geant Morris, who had been hit by a piece of 
shrapnel at Ck>urlandon, started out on the 
march that morning, but it became too stren- 
uous for their wounded legs and they had to 
finish the trip in an ambulance. 

As soon as it quit raining, fires began to be 
built over the entire woods and everybody was 
drying out and getting warm. A supper was 
prepared, which we got about seven o'clock, 
and then as soon as the darkness began to 
fall, all fires had to be extinguished. It was 
quite a contrast to what we had had for such 
a long time and we surely did enjoy the camp- 
fire scene that was here presented. Everyone 
was glad and happy for here we were to get 
our trucks and travel back to our resting area. 
We knew that at last we were out of all dan- 
ger, except from enemy aeroplanes, and we 
had had enough experience with them to know 
that they would never find our location at 
night. 



RELIEVED AT LAST 135 

The following day (Wednesday) we lay 
around in the woods taking it easy while some 
of the men went to the town of Epernay, 
which was not very far away. On Thursday 
morning we got word that we would board 
trucks in the afternoon about four o'clock, 
ride a certain distance in them and then board 
the train for tlie southeastern part of France 
to the rest area. At 3:30 we started march- 
ing up the road to the point, where we were 
to meet the trucks. It is strange that never 
could trucks come to the place where we were 
located. We always had to march a distance 
and meet them^ when, as far as w^e could see, 
there was no real reason why they couldn't 
come down and meet us. That is why we all 
decided that after we got home and wanted to 
take a trip, instead of getting the train where 
we were, we would walk half the distance and 
then board the train. 



CHAPTER XII. 



INTO THE AEGONNB. 



AT FOUR O'CLOCK we boarded the trucks 
and spent one miserable night on them. No 
sleep could be had for the riding was very 
rough and we were packed too tightly together 
to be comfortable. The next morning (Friday) , 
we were very much surprised to find ourselves 
stopping just outside of a little village and 
being told to get off as that was as far as 
we were to go. Something surely must be 
wrong somewhere, we thought, or else we 
wouldn't be getting off so soon, but then maybe 
this was the place we were to get the train. 

After a little trouble and delay, we were put 
into billets once again and found that we were 
in the little village of Mogneville, or, as we 
called it, "Monkey ville." We got a newspaper 
later in the day and read about the reducing of 
the St. Mihiel salient by the American Army, 
and upon locating ourselves on the map, dis- 
covered that we were directly in back of St. 
Mihiel. Our visions of rest, sleep and eat were 
shattered when we realized our position, for we 
felt sure that we were brought over here appar- 
ently to help in this drive and in a short time, 
no doubt, would be taking our turn in the 
Front Line just as we had done in the Chateau 



INTO THE ARGONNE 137 

Thierry Drive. It was disheartening, to say 
the least, for we had all been filled with the 
hopes that we were to get a rest. We were cer- 
tainly S. O. L. 

Our kitchens had to make this journey them- 
selves and we were only issued canned food 
and a little bread. No coffee could be made 
and it was not until the next day that we got 
a sufficient supply of bread, this being done by 
the ambulance at Regimental Headquarters 
going up to the railhead and bringing the bread 
down for us. Besides "Our Second Battalion," 
Regimental Headquarters and Headquarters 
Company were also located in this town. 

The Germans had been in this town in 1914 
and had burned half lof it, the ruins of which 
we could still see for it had never been built 
up again. 

On Sunday morning. Father Conaty said 
Mass once again in a real church. Some of the 
windows had been shattered by bursting shells, 
but otherwise it was in. very good shape. The 
Padre of this church was an old man about 
eighty years of age and was very feeble, but 
he had a strong voice and it was remarkable 
hiow well he sang during the Mass. The Padre 
told Father Conaty that many years ago he 
had baptized the then President of France, 
President Poincaire, and that the President's 
parents had given him some fine silverware at 
that time. When the Germans were coming 



138 OUR SECOND BATTAUON 

®o fast in 1914, he fled from the village with 
the rest of the inhabitants and tJie Germans 
had stolen this silverware during their stay 
in the village, and he seemed very much agi- 
tated over the theft. 

We reached this village on Friday morning, 
the 13th. On Saturday afternoon, some of our 
troops were out drilling, and on Sunday we 
received our first batch of replacements and 
they were quickly assigned to the different 
companies. A program of training was 
worked out Sunday afternoon and on Monday 
morning the troops went out and drilled for 
seven hours. While the drilling was going on, 
a copy of a Memorandum from Division Head- 
quarters was received, saying that our Divi- 
sion should be prepared to move that night. 
The message was received by us at 2 :30 in the 
afternoon. An officer of our Battalion, who 
had been at Division Headquarters in the 
morning, said they knew it up there at that 
time. Yet, our troops, still tired and worn 
out from the Chateau Thierry Drive, had to be 
kept out on the drill field all day Monday, in- 
stead of being given a chance to rest up a little 
for the long night hikes which were ahead of 
them. Headquarters must surely have known 
of these orders and we were sore about it. 

Immediately after supper, we assembled our 
Battalion on the road and waited for word to 
start off on a night march. A good many of 



INTO THE ARGONNE 139 

the men filled their canteens at the house in 
which had been the Battalion Mess. Even 
though we knew we were going into action 
again and had been deprived of our rest, we 
did our best to forget it for a little while by 
singing and joking among ourselves while we 
sat on the i*oad waiting for the word to start. 
Some of the replaicements were complaining be- 
cause they had been on the road for three or 
four days and didn't get very much sleep, and 
we told them that we would be only too glad 
to have exchanged places with them. At about 
eight o'clock we started, crossing a railroad 
at Revigny. The night was very bright until 
about three o'clock, when the sky began to get 
darker and darker. We had been marching 
at our usual rate, that is, march twenty min- 
utes and rest ten minutes. 

Lieut. O'Brien, who had been wounded at 
Crezancy on the 16th of July, had come back 
to the Battalion that morning. At our stop 
about ten o'clock, we received more replace- 
ments, and these men were placed in the rear 
of the column under command* of Lieut. 
O'Brien. 

At about three-thirty, w^e reached the Bois 
de Laheycourt, after a night march of about 
twenty-three kilometres. It was then raining 
only slightly, and we were so tired that we just 
unrolled our packs and lay on our shelter 
halves with our blankets wrapped around us. 



140 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

It then commeiiced to rain harder tout we made 
no effort to improve our shelter. 

Our kitchens had not reached Mogneville by- 
Monday evening, when we left, but each one 
of the companies had a pan or pot, which they 
carried along with them and in which they 
made some coffee during the day. 

On Tuesday night, we began our march 
promptly at eight o'clock, the Third Battalion 
leading the column. A little after midnight, 
we got into some woods, which we afterwards 
learned was the Argonne Forest. The road 
kept winding and winding through the woods 
and it seemed that there was no end in sight. 
We began to grumble among ourselves at the 
length of the march and of how tired we were, 
and Major Dunlap told us that we were to stop 
as soon as we came out of the woods. We 
marched and marched and stretched our heads 
to see if we could see the open country once 
more, but none came into view. Finally, at 
about four o'clock, we came out of the woods 
and reached the town of Futeau. As far as 
we could see, this was a pretty large town but 
we kept on marching through it. It had started 
to rain just before we reached Futeau and a 
good many of us would have fallen out while 
going through here had not Major Dunlap told 
us that we would stop just a few hundred 
yards out of the town. Those few hundred 
yards, as might be expected, turned out to be 



INTO THE ARGONNE 141 

about a kilometre past the town. At this point 
we cut across a field and stopped on the side 
of a hill, which we called the hills of Futeau. 
We had covered over twenty-five kilometres 
on our march and were just as near fatigued 
as could be. 

We thought that this would be our stopping 
place for at least a few days for we were, in- 
deed, tired and worn out, and had lost about 
half of our replacements in the two nights' 
marching, for they were not used to it as we 
were and they were compelled to drop out 
along the road. But the time for our little 
rest had not yet come. At about six o'clock 
we received word that we would again march 
that night. At eight o'clock, we started, this 
time ^^Our Second Battalion" leading the 
march. The march was uneventful except for 
the fact that it did not begin to rain until after 
we reached our destination. We got to Le 
Neufour about four o'clock, after marching 
about twenty-five kilometres, and then went 
into bivouac in an orchard nine kilometres 
behind the Line. 

It was now Thursday, the 19th, when we got 
to that point, and the next day we got our pay 
for the month of eTune, and our kitchens also 
caught up with us. On Saturday night, we 
moved up through the woods a couple more 
kilometres until we were three kilometres 
Northeast of Le :Neufour. Father Conaty said 



142 OUR SECOND BATTAUON 

Mass right out in the open the next morning 
and just before he started to give Communion, 
it started to rain and the two altar boys, Frank 
Me Garry and the Sergeant Major, held a shel- 
ter half over Father Conaty's head and the 
Chalice while he gave Communion to the large 
number of officers and men, for there were 
more than usual on account of the whole regi- 
ment being all together. After Mass, he held 
Protestant Services, which were also well at- 
tended. 

We were told that this was a quiet sector 
and that the Line had not moved here since 
1914. Part of the 112th Infantry were holding 
down the trenches and we were to go in next. 
We had an idea, though, that the sector would 
not remain very quiet as long as we were there, 
and the next day rumors began to fill the air 
that there was another drive coming. The sec- 
tor was remarkably quiet and it was a treat 
to us to be so near the Line and to experience 
only a little shelling. 

All this time artillery continued to move 
into position all around us and there was an 
enormous amount of shells hauled up around 
the guns. We heard in some way that the ar- 
tillery was hub to hub for a stretch of forty 
miles and we knew ourselves that this was 
true all around us. We were sure now that a 
drive was going to start, (but never did we think 
it would be of such magnitude as later devel- 
oped. 



CHAPTER XIII. 
THE ARGONNB DRIVE. 

QN THE night of Wednesday, September 
25th, we were all lying in our tents with 
complete quietness all around us when, at 
eleven o'clock, we were aroused by the heavy 
firing of guns. ^^The Drive has started,'' we 
all shouted as we jumped out and put on our 
shoes and leggins and started to make up our 
rolls. Into the top of our packs we put the 
reserve rations which we had been issued ear- 
lier that day, consisting of four boxes of hard 
tack and a two pound can of roast beef. These 
rations were to last us for two days. 

At 11 :3a, the Regiment was assembled and 
we went out of the woods onto the muddy road 
and seemed to be traveling in an easterly di- 
rection. Going up this first road, we met some 
French troops who had just been relieved by 
some of our own men. As we passed them w^e 
would yell, "Fini, la guerre," and they would 
respond with the same expression and seemed 
tickled to death over it. We could not help 
but feel as we marched up that road with the 
guns barking away in the "Million Dollar 
Barrage," as it was called, that there was 
something fascinating about the whole thing 
and for the time being, we forgot all about the 
rest which we were to get,. 



144 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

After going up this road for some distance, 
we turned to the right and were now walking 
parallel to the guns. The firing was terrific. 
Every ten or fifteen minutes it seemed as 
though some new and heavier guns began to 
fire. Every once in a while a new gun would 
'begin to fire right beside us and the sudden 
explosion would nearly knock us off our feet 
for the guns were concealed and we were un- 
able to see them. We could not hear our- 
selves talk, the noise was so loud. At 3 :30 we 
reached some woods where the whole Regiment 
lay for the rest of the night. 

'^Our Second Battalion" was the Division 
Reserve in the start of this Drive and in the 
afternoon of Thursday, we got orders to pro- 
ceed to the left of the 112th Infantry (which 
was the extreme left of our Divisional Sec- 
tor), and connect up with the right of the 
77th Division, the line between those two units 
having been broken. At four o'clock we 
started, going up over the side of a hill where 
we saw our first real dugouts. The Line had 
not moved in this place for four years and 
the French had had ample time to make good 
dugouts. They were regular little homes and 
you couldn't much blame the French for not 
wanting to advance the Line in that place. 
The side of the hill was covered with dugouts 
and barbed wire stretched everywhere. As we 
reached the top of the hill, we saw our own 



THE ARGONNE DRIVE 145 

Artillery resting and they told us that the 
reason they were not firing was l>ecause the 
Germans were then out of their range of fire. 
After going along a road aibout a half kilo- 
metre, we came to what had been No Man's 
Land for four years, and it certainly was a 
wonderful sight. Shell holes w^re everywhere. 
A few trees remained standing but there was 
not a limb upon any of them. Our Engineers 
were already there constructing a road over 
No Man's Land for the artillery to move up, 
to be followed by ammunition and rations. 

We passed the trenches which the French 
had held for so many years and started across 
No Man's Land, jumping over shell holes and 
wading through some of them. As w^e crossed, 
we passed a battalion of the 77th Division who 
were just going in on our left. As we pro- 
ceeded further, we saw the skull of a man and 
about twenty feet further there was a shoe 
with the bone of a leg up to the knee sticking 
in it. Apparently, they were the remains of 
some soldier who had been killed out there on 
a patrol at night and his body had never been 
recovered. 

It was getting dark as w^e reached the Ger- 
man side of this No Man's Land and had 
passed their first line trench. We then got 
into the woods again and were now starting 
on our long journey in the famous Argonne 
Forest. After the whole Battalion got into 



146 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

these woods, we rested a few moments and 
word was passed back tliat there would be 
no smoking or talking as we were getting close 
to the enemy. A narrow gauge railroad ran 
along here and this we followed and followed 
until we had gained contact with the enemy. 
It was now pitch dark and after a little dif- 
ficulty we got into what had been the third 
line Geimian trench. Battalion Headquarters 
lay with Company H on its left and Com- 
panies F, G and E on its right. We took off 
our packs and sat on them during the night, 
with our heads just below the top of the 
trench. 

It was very uncomfortable all night long. 
It was impossible for those of us who were 
not on duty to sleep in such a position. It 
rained a little and every now and then a 
stream of machine gun fire was sent over our 
heads by the enemy. At about five o'clock in 
the morning, the Germans put over a machine 
gun barrage, which caused us to go as close to 
the l)ottom of the trench as we possibly could. 
We thought sure that the Germans were going 
to make an attack, and as soon as the fire died 
down, we got into position and awaited their 
aibtack, but none developed. 

At six o'clock, w^e were to make an attack. 
When our artillery barrage was laid doT^oi, 
the Germans started counter-battery work. 
When the time came for us to go over the top. 



THE ARGONNE DRIVE 147 

all of Campanies E, G and F, Battalion Head- 
quarters and three platoons of Company H 
had gotten out of the trench, when two shells 
hit directly in the part of the trench, where 
the remaining one platoon of Company H lay, 
killing the following men from that Company : 
Rudolph Bartlett, Sitanley Bruce, George E. 
Do'uard, Joseph G. Gross, Donald T. Larkin, 
Patrick J. Powers and James J. Scully and 
wounding many others. Through a terrible 
shelling and machine gun fire, the line ad- 
vanced for about a kilometre, when we were 
held up and forced to dig in. 

During the afternoon, our line tried to take 
a trench, not more than three hundred yards 
away, but the trench mortar fire and machine 
gun fire from the enemy were so deadly and ef- 
fective that we were unable to move foi'ward. 
The barbed wire stretched in front of our po- 
sition was so thick and wicked that we would 
have had a hard time to even go through it 
without any opposition, let alone with a strong 
enemy just ahead of us. 

Late in the afternoon, just before another 
attempt was going to be made to take this 
trench, the Germans started to shell the lines 
again. First Sergeant Matthew Turner of 
Company F was walking along organizing his 
platoon for the attack, when the shelling be- 
gan. He ordered every man to remain in the 
little dugout in which he was lying, but about 



148 OUR SECOND BATTAUON 

a half dozen men rushed behind a large tree 
a few feet in the rear for protection. No 
sooner had they reached the tree, than a shell 
burst immediately in back of them, killing 
Clements Bischoff, Athur Dutill, Harry Large 
and Isaac E. Pendleton. 

During the enemy's shelling in the early 
part of the evening, a shell hit close to Captain 
S'chlosser, 2nd Lieut. Thomas A. Robertson 
and First Sergeant Thompson of Company G, 
wounding Lieut. Robertson so badly that he 
had to be evacuated to the hospital. Another 
piece of it hit Captain Schlosser in the right 
shoulder, rendering his arm useless, but he 
refused to leave the Lines. He didn't get his 
shot of anti-tetanus until reaching Varennes 
the next afternoon. 

The rest of our Division on our right had 
advanced considerable and it could not be un- 
derstood why "Our Second Battalion" could 
not advance its line. The Germans who were 
opposing us certainly must have been cut off 
from the rest of the enemy, who were being 
pushed back on our right, or else they were 
ordered to hold that position and hold up our 
advance while the rest withdrew. The result 
was that Major Dunlap received an order to 
withdraw his troops while attempting to take 
the trench in front, but he refused to do so, 
replying that to withdraw would open the 
flanks of both the 112th Infantry and 77th 



THE ARGONNE DRIVE 149 

Division. When the authorities in the rear 
learned that ^'Oiir Second Battalion'^ was 
meeting such strong resistance, they sent a 
message that we were to advance in conjunc- 
tion with the 77th Division and, after reach- 
ing our objective — ^the trench in front of us — 
the Third Battalion would leapfrog over us 
and take up the advance. During the night, 
Captain Haller, who was then commanding 
the Third Battalion, reported his Battalion to 
Major Dunlap and the situation was explained 
to him, while his troops were put in position 
in the rear of our troops. 

Towards morning. Major Dunlap received 
a message from the Captain commanding the 
Battalion of the 77th Division on our left, say- 
ing that they were to advance that morning 
(Saturday, the 28th) and wanted to know 
what we would do, and the Major sent the 
reply, "I will advance with yon." 

At six o'clock, our barrage was put down, 
under cover of which the trench was reached, 
but the 77th Division did not advance with 
us. Scouts were sent along to explore the 
trench in front of the 77th Division and they 
reported back that the trench was all clear. 
This word was sent to the 77th Division by 
Captain Schlosser and they refused to believe 
it and further refused to move up to the trench 
at that time. A little while later, an officer 
from the 77th Division was seen going through 



150 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

[fche trench in front of their position^ with 
pencil and pad, making notes of the different 
guns and material in that sector. 

The Third Battalion then jumped over us 
and we remained in the trench awaiting fur- 
ther orders. Orders were received in the after- 
noon for the Battalion to march to Varennes 
to report to the Chief of Staff of the Division 
for instructions, and Lieut. Rice, then acting 
as a M. P., and who was killed a few days 
later, led us through the Forest to Varennes. 
Just before we started, a tank explosion oc- 
curred on the road just a few hundred yards 
in back of us as the second of two ambulances 
went over a little bridge, but no damage was 
inflicted. Along the road we took into Var- 
ennes were some big Howitzers, which the Ger- 
mans had not had time to take back with them, 
and just outside of Varennes, we came to a 
bridge which was mined. 

We rested a little on the outer edge of Var- 
ennes, while Major Dunlap reported to the 
Chief of Staff and received orders to proceed 
up further to the Commanding General, 55th 
Brigade, for disposal. We started through 
that town and never did we see such a con- 
gestion of traffic. It seemed as though every- 
one was on the move, automobiles, trucks, 
wagons, artillery and troops were all trying 
to go through the town at the same time. 
Part of our own artillery was firing away on 



THE ARGONNE DRIVE 151 

the Aght side of the Aire River as we marched 
through the town. Our column was broken 
time and time again, but we got it connected 
up all right and passed around the end of the 
town, where we saw the greatest, collection of 
dugouts we had ever seen. Thej were built 
on the reverse side of the hill and had been 
practically safe from all shells. We had no 
time to stop here, although they did look very 
inviting, but we wound up over the steep hill 
and then down again. On the road, the Major 
was met by General Muir, who told him to 
take "Our Second Battalion" into Moimtblain- 
ville and stay there for the night. The Bat- 
talion w^as put on the sides of two hills facing 
each other and no sooner had we got there than 
it started to rain again. 

The next morning, we moved up the road 
and reached the end of the ruined town of 
Mountblainville, from which point we were to 
start up and report to the Commanding Gen- 
eral, 56th Infantry Brigade, which was then 
being commanded by Colonel Conger. The 
Third Battalion was stretched out along an- 
other road, which led out to the left. Here, 
we waited for over a half hour. Then the 
Third Battalion started out over the road to 
the left with "Our Second Battalion,'' led by 
Captain Schlosser, following. Major Dunlap 
remained in the rear. After we had proceeded 
along a narrow gauge railroad for some dis- 



152 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

tance, an order came up from the rear for the 
column to halt. Captain Schlosser halted us 
and sent word back to find out who had given 
the order to halt. No response came and we 
started again, when a second order to halt 
reached the head of the troops. When an- 
other message was sent back to learn who had 
given the halting order, it was found that 
Major Dunlap had sent it. The Major arrived 
and said that we were to go in another direc- 
tion, so the Third Battalion proceeded ahead 
and we cut across the open fields in a north- 
easterly direction and finally came to the road 
which led up around Le Chene Tondu. While 
we were proceeding up this road in column of 
file and were almost opposite Le Chene Tondu, 
the enemy started to throw machine gun fire 
at us and we had to withdraw about two hun- 
dred yards. Here, we assembled the Battalion 
in the woods in skirmish formation, just be- 
hind a little creek, and got ready to make an 
attack on Le Chene Tondu, which was to take 
place at 12 o'clock. 

A few minutes before twelve, our barrage 
was put down but we could see it falling on 
the top of the hill, which was our first objec- 
tive, and for this reason we could not start 
the advance on time. Word was despatched to 
the rear to have the barrage raised a little and 
after it was done, the attack was begun. Never 
before did we see such a steep hill to climb 




CAriAIN KOIJKHT S, CAIN, (OMI'VNV 
AVouiuled September Gtli, 1918. 



THE ARGONNE DRIVE 153 

and upon which to make an advance. It was 
almost straight np and down, but we got up it 
all right and after reaching the top and ad- 
vancing a few hundred feet we came to an 
open place and then a sort of a ravine, where 
Major Dunlap established his Headquarters. 
It was in this open place before the ravine that 
we made ^^Our Second Battalion" Cemetery 
for the men who were killed in this vicinity. 

The line then kept advancing through the 
thick woods a few hundred feet until the ad- 
vancing line was held up by machine gun fire 
about two hundred and fifty feet in front of a 
road, which ran perpendicular to a road run- 
ning through the woods. Captain Schlosser, 
who was in command of the supporting troops, 
came up over the road carrying his Foret d' 
Argonne map in his right hand, to 1st Lieut. 
Boden of Company E, who was in command 
of the front line, to learn what was holding 
up the advance of the troops. Lieut. Boden 
told him that there was stiff machine gun fire 
coming from the brow of the little rise just 
in front of them. Captain Schlosser said 
something to Lieut. Boden, apparently that 
they would endeavor to find where they were, 
for the two of them stood in the middle of 
this narrow road reading the map and locating 
their positions on it, while machine gun bul- 
lets were shooting past and all around them. 

Captain Schlosser seemed to find the ap- 



154 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

proximate location on the map for he lifted 
his right hand from the map and moved it a 
little to the right, pointing in the direction of 
the enemy fire. The next moment, the Captain 
uttered an "Oh !" while his two hands went to 
his left side and he fell dead into the arms of 
Lieut. Boden. Sergeants Ra;vTnond G. Row- 
bottom of Company E and Harold S. Gilham 
of Company H, who were at the side of the 
road, carried the Captain into the woods be- 
side the road. He had been hit with a ma- 
chine gun bullet, which had killed him in- 
stantly. 

In less than a minute, practically every 
man in Company G, which was about fifty feet 
in the rear, had learned of the death of their 
Captain. In another two minutes, Lieut. 
Davenport, the Scout Officer, came to Major 
Dunlap and said, '^Major, Captain Schlosser 
has been killed." "Killed," the Major gasped, 
as tears came to his eyes. "Yes," said Lieut. 
Davenport, "I wasn't going to tell you until 
I was sure of it, so I went over and saw his 
body." 

For some time Major Dunlap sat motion- 
less, unable to do a thing. It was the hardest 
blow he had yet received, and not only was it 
the hardest for him, but for Company G and 
"Our Second Battalion." 

The next morning Captain Schlosser's body 
was carried back on a stretcher and, with his 



THE ARGONNE DRIVE 155 

raincoat stall on him, he was wrapped in a 
blanket and buried by Father Conaty in a 
grave, which had been dug for him the night 
before, in the orchard in the open place on top 
of the extreme right edge of Le Chene Tondu. 

We suffered other heavy casualties and the 
Line was forced to come to a halt. Later in 
the afternoon, a Battalion of the 112th In- 
fantry came in as our support and they were 
placed just in front of the ravine. Orders 
\vere received to make another advance that 
night, which would be preceded by a machine 
gun barrage of ten minutes. Major Dunlap 
designated the zero hour as 6 :45 P. M. At 
6 :35, the machine gun barrage was started and 
at 6 :45 the advance was begun, our artillery 
starting a barrage at the same time. Darkness 
was falling and after our line had gone a little 
ways, our barrage fell short and our men were 
forced to fall back. The barrage kept falling 
Shorter and shorter until the men of the 112th 
Infantry fell back into the ravine, but the 
Major would not allow them to go back any 
further. The barrage continued for some few 
minutes until w^ord was linally sent to the 
artillery to stop it. Our casualties were much 
more than what they should have been and 
the original line before the attack was then 
established. 

That night Battalion Headquarters moved 
down into a large dugout, which was part of 



156 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

a large German Base Hospital, and in which 
our Battalion Dressing Station had been es- 
ta'blished. When the Major reached there, the 
place was crowded with wounded men waiting 
to be evacuated. 

The line of ^'Our Second Battalion" was 
then on an angle of about forty-five degrees, 
with Company G on the extreme right, some 
of that company being in the edge of the 
woods, some in shell holes in the open and 
the rest of the company stretched out in some 
bushes further to the right. Companies H, 
E and F were on the left of Company G in 
the order named, the extreme left of Com- 
pany F being some distance in the rear. From 
this time on. Companies E, F and H tried 
time and again to advance their lines so as to 
make our line straight. The Third and First 
Battalions were extended on our left with the 
77th Division on their left. 

During all that week our casualties grew 
and grew. Everytime anyone came up from 
the rear, we would ask if they had seen our 
relief, but none had. We had been in the Line 
for over a week now and had very few men 
left. It looked as though they were going to 
keep our Division in until practically every 
man was killed or wounded. It seemed as 
though we were doomed and there was nothing 
to do but to wait our turn. We had heard of 
the 35th Division which was on our right. 



THE ARGONNE DRIVE 157 

being relieved earlier in the week and thought 
surely that our relief would be coming right 
behind it, but none came. 

While in this position, Ezra W. Hallock and 
three men from Company H, were sleeping 
in the front line one night when the rest of the 
line withdrew for a barrage. They awoke 
w^hen the shelling began and heard a patrol 
reconnoitering in front of them. ^'Hey, Mac, 
what the hell outfit do you belong to" yelled 
Hallock. Something Avas said in German and 
Hallock sairl to the other three men, ''By heck, 
they must be Dutch," and he started to hit 
some hand grenades on his helmet and hurl 
them over at the German voices. He didn't 
throw them far nor hard, but just threw them 
as if he was throwing balls for exercise. The 
other three men were hugging close to the 
ground all the time, for fragmentations of the 
grenades were flying around them, but Hallock 
kept at it until his supply of grenades was ex- 
hausted. The next morning, nine dead Ger- 
man soldiers w^ere found in the place from 
w^hich the voices were heard coming the pre 
vious night. 

On Thursday morning, the Germans started 
to make an attack across the field in mass for 
mation through the orchards and they were 
simply mowed down by our men and a com- 
pany of the 109th Machine Gun Battalion. 
That night after dark, many souvenirs were 



158 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

gathered from the bodies of the Germans, who 
had been killed that morning. 

On Monday morning, the 7th of October, we 
got orders to proceed in another attack, which 
started at 12 o'clock. When we reached the 
junction of the roads at La Vergette, we en- 
countered machine gun fire and, after leaving 
Companies E and F there. Companies G and 
H and Battalion Headquarters came back a 
little ways and proceeded down over a steep 
hill. When we got to the bottom of this hill, 
we rested for a few^ minutes. There were little 
German houses throughout the woods and 
some of them were on fire. It also began to 
rain while we were resting there. We then 
went up another long hill and when we 
reached the top of it, we could see some troops 
on another hill about a half mile in front of 
us. At first we thought they were Germans 
but satisfied ourselves a little later that they 
were Americans. That night we lay on the 
side of Hill 241 all night in a steady down- 
pour of rain. 

The next day we tried to make a further 
advance early in the afteronon with the 77th 
Division. The attack did not go very far, and 
at five o'clock, we started our last advance in 
this part of the Argonne Drive. The attack 
was successful and we dug in for the night. 

That morning James G. Redding was found 
dead in a little wooden shack, into which he 



THE ARGONNE DRIVE 159 

had gone the night before. He had not been 
well for the last few days and had been com- 
plaining. 

Some of the casualties for this action are as 
follows : 

Company E : 1st Lieut. James C. Boden, 
gassed September 29th; Warren C. Rumford, 
wounded September 27th ; Corporal Harry H. 
Shepherd; Corporal Frank J. Bollacker, 
gassed; Corporal James F. Stevenson, gassed; 
Coi-poral John A. Turanek^ wounded with 
shrapnel September 27th; Corporal Roscoe J. 
Waugaman ; Mechanic Joseph Mehl, foot blown 
off with shrapnel September 27th; James W. 
Anderson hit in the leg September 29th; Ser- 
geant Roy R. Zimmers, shot through the mouth 
with machine gun bullet September 29th; 
Corporal Alfred Zander wounded October 2nd ; 
George J. Georgeson; Sergeant Lon M. Kid- 
well, wounded in the leg Septemiber 29th; 
Ralph L. Mallory; Howard A. Dunbar; An- 
thony Mikolaitas; James E. Schilliday; Ser- 
geant James J. Hill, Jr., Sergeant John H. 
EifPler, Sergeant George C. Yerkins, one shell 
hitting all the last three named men; Sergeant 
Edward J. Bayne, gassed; Sergeant David S. 
Black ; Sergeant Joseph A. Schwartzer ; Corp- 
oral Aloysius F. Dineen, gassed; Reid W. Gil- 
man, wounded October 8th ; John H. Coburn, 
w^ounded October 1st; Frank W. Smith, wound- 
ed September 28th and Edward F. Hermann. 



160 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

Company H : 1st Lieut. Harry A. Kurtz, hit 
with shrapnel September 28th; 2nd Lieut. 
Athol G. Vadakin, hit with shrapnel in the left 
arm; Sergeant John I. McDonald, hit with 
machine gun bullet in right shoulder Septem- 
ber 30th ; Sergeant Charles Reiter, hit wdth ex- 
plosive bullet in right shoulder October 8th; 
Sergeant George C. O'Brien, wounded Septem- 
ber 29th; Sergeant Roy Seigh wounded Sep- 
tember 28th ; Lorenzo Marsilia, wounded Sep- 
tember 27th; Corporal Fulton Conner, hit 
with shrapnel September 28th; Arthur T. 
Palmer, wounded September 29th; Corporal 
Harry M. Clifford, wounded September 30th 
(died in the hospital November 1st) ; John G. 
Fanning; Lawrence W. Fentzel; James Fox; 
Thomas L. Gessler; Edward Gunia; Howard 
F. Haag, w^ounded October 5th; William P. 
McCracken, wounded October 7th; James H. 
Achuff, wounded October 9th ; Corporal Sharp- 
less Rodgers, gas burns on October 5th; 
Corporal Ralph H. Cluey, gassed on September 
29th; Joseph A. Brand, wounded September 
29th; Sergeant James R. Rutledge, wounded 
October 8th; Eddie M. Egstad, gassed, and 
A. V. Hickman, wounded October 1st. 

Company G: 2nd Lieut. Malcolmson, Sam 
Saplio, Corporal George W. Freyer, Giuseppi 
Marioni, Giuseppi Ramello, William Rush, 
Robert Wenc, John F. Donahue and L. P. 
Steele. 



THE ARGONNB DRIVE 161 

Company F: 2nd Lieut. Willard Ewing, 
shot tlirough the neck and mouth with machine 
gun bullet on October 8th ; Joseph E. Lybarger, 
wounded September 29th; John O'Learsky, 
wounded October 7th; 1st Sergeant Matthew 
Turner, hit with shrapnel October 2nd, and 
Rowland C. Williams, wounded September 
27th. 

Some of the men killed are as follows : 

Company E : Francis M. Krall Avas shot 
through the head by a sniper at 10:30 A. M., 
September 30th. Russel G. Fulton was killed 
at the same time, these two men being out on 
a patrol at the time. 

Edward Eppley was hit with a trench mor- 
tar shell aibout six o'clock in the evening on the 
1st of October. 

Sergeant John V. Vanaerschot died October 
11th from wounds received in the Argonne. 
Bomgarden Kelley, Fiorenzo Travaglini, A. 
Diaz, Edward Eppley, C. Fratto, Charles Gar- 
guila, O. Grieshaber and Stanley Gromzukski, 
were also killed. 

Galop Valentine, who had been taken before 
Colonel Shannon at Crezancy as a German spy, 
because he resembled a German so much witti 
his long whiskers, was last seen going over the 
top in the Argonne with grenades in his haads. 

Company F : Carl N. Anderson, in the last 
attack on the afternoon of Octoiber 8th; Ser- 
geant Arnold O. Dunkle was killed Sep- 



1G2 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

temiber 27th while in a fox hole; John J. Mul- 
lanej, struck \^lth exploding shrapnel Sep- 
tember 27th ; Howard C. Shelley had his arm 
blown oft* by a bursting shell on September 
27th and died on the stretcher; Emanuel 
Tschippert was killed by a piece of shrapnel 
piercing his shoulder on September 27th ; Isa- 
dore Zeiner was hit with machine gun bullets 
in the right side of his body and in his leg on 
September 27th; Joseph Donvito, killed 
October 7th; Burton P. Guilefuss was struck 
with exploding shrapnel at about 7 A. M., on 
October 2nd; William A. Jones was killed at 
about 9 A. M., October 6th; Charlie Morris, 
killed October 9th at about 7 A. M. ; George 
E. Nelley, killed about 6 P. M., on October 
3rd, and Elbert Whorton, killed about 2 P. M., 
on October 3rd. 

Company G: Corporal William B. Davis 
was killed September 27th with a machine 
bullet, which hit him in the stomach, while 
he was straightening out his squad. Sergeant 
George W. Fryling was killed the same day 
while out on a patrol. He ran into a machine 
gun nest and was hit in the breast by a sniper. 
Frank D. Herbert was killed the same day by 
a piece of a trench mortar shell, which hit 
near him. Frank M. Titzel was killed Sep- 
tember 28th by a piece of shell hitting him 
in the back. Sergeant Raymond Long was 
killed September 27th by a piece of one of six 



THE ARGONNE DRIVE 163 

shells, which hit near him. Sergeant James 
Flanagan was killed October 5th, while in 
charge of a reconnoitering patrol. He was just 
starting back when he was hit in the head by 
a sniper. Sergeant Frank J. Hoxworth was 
killed aibout 8 A. M., Octdber 7th by a piece 
of shell. Basil T. Isherwood was killed the 
night of October 8th by a machine gun bullet. 
He was carried back to the dressing station 
in a blanket but died on the way to the hos- 
pital. John J. Moerman was hit in the neck 
with a machine bullet at about 10 A. M., on 
October 4th, while he was operating an auto- 
matic rifle against a German sniper. 

William J. Brennon, who had captured two 
German War Crosses and an Iron Cross, was 
hit in the last attack on October 8th. While 
being carried back on a stretcher, he was hit 
again, dying instantly. 

Company H: William Bellanger, killed 
with shell fire near Mountblainville on Sep- 
temiber 29th ; Paul T. Roman^ki, hit in the leg 
on Septemiber 29th on Le Chene Tondu, his 
wounds being dressed by Sergeant Paul L. 
Wetzel; Arthur F. Krueger and Philip H. 
Hermann, killed by machine gun bullets on 
Septem'ber 29th ; Francis Heidmann, killed the 
same day wdth rifle fire; Johnson D. Carr, 
killed by shell fire on September 27th; Mike 
V. Burns, killed by explosive bullet on Le 
Chene Tondu about September 29th; Harry 
A. Battles, struck in chest with high explosive 



164 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

shell on October 1st; Hiram Lane killed 
October 1st; William H. Mason, hit in the 
head with a machine gun bullet a'bout 7 P. M., 
on October 1st ; and Andrew Bennett, hit with 
explosive bullet in the head at about 8 A. M., 
on October 1st. 

Our last night in the Argonne was a very 
chilly one. At 7 :30 the next morning, the line 
was taken over by a unit of the 82nd Division, 
and, under cover of the heavy fog we started to 
march to the rear. While on this march, the 
enemy shelled us, a piece of one shell hittiug 
James E. Jenning of Company F. 

Our kitchens had moved up and when we 
reached them, we got a cup of hot coffee and 
then kept on the march. After marching aibout 
eight kilometers, we reached a part of the 
Argonne Forest, where we were to stay for 
the day and night. We were not sure yet that* 
we were entirely relieved from the drive, for we 
were still wdthin shelling distance and could be 
moved up to the Line in a hurry again, but 
we had only a small number of men left and 
hoped we would keep on going to the rear. It 
was about eleven o'clock when we got to the 
woods and about the first thing we did was to 
take off our shirts and undershirts and begin 
to kill the cooties, which had accumulated on 
our bodies in the past few weeks. The kitchens 
followed us back and in the afternoon we were 
served the first hot meal we had had for two 
weeks. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

THE THIAUCOURT SECTOR AND END OF THE WAR. 

117HILE lying in these woods, we were told 
^^ that we would start out the next morning 
at 7 :30, march a few kilometres and then board 
trucks. The next morning (the 10th) we 
started out through the woods, but were met 
by Captain Gill, the Regimental Adjutant, just 
as we reached the road. He told Major Dun- 
lap that we would have to walk a little further 
than was intended at first. About eight o'clock, 
the regiment got on its way and we passed 
through Mountblainville. A little distance 
past this town, we were given hard tack and 
canned roast beef, and then we followed the 
narrow gauge railroad into Varennes again. 
It certainly was a hard march and the only 
thing that kept so many of us from falling out 
was the thought that we might miss the trucks, 
which were to haul us "somewhere.'' We knew 
not where, and, as a matter of fact, cared less. 
We kept proceeding along in column of file 
at a slow pace, yet it was strenuous. The whole 
Brigade was on the march and, according to 
another soldier who saw us coming out that 
morning, it was one of the most pitiable sights 
he had seen. We were dirty and ragged and 
our beards were long, for we had not gotten 
a chance to put any water on our hands and 



166 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

faces for two week®, let alone try to sliave. 
Nearly everyone was carrying a German cane 
or some other souvenir that had been picked 
up in the Argonne. 

After we left Varennes, we turned to the 
left on a little road and then turned to the 
right on the long road, which eventually led us 
to just outside of Clermont, where we boarded 
trucks driven by Chinese, after marching over 
twenty kilometres. We rode and stopped and 
finally, at about three o'clock the next morn- 
ing, which was Friday, we were told to get 
off the trucks and go over in the field next to 
the road and lie down until morning. 

The next morning, we marched into the 
town just ahead of us and were put into bil- 
lets once again, this town being Jouy-les- Cotes, 
which was directly East of Commercy. On 
Saturday, we rested and looked for the arrival 
of our kitchens. On Sunday, we got replace- 
ments again, this time from the 86th Division. 
On Monday, we were issued new underwear 
and overcoats and were supposed to take a 
cootie bath, but there was only room for about 
fifteen men at a time and consequently, very 
few men got bathed. 

It looked as though we were going to get a 
real rest here, for an officer was to be sent to 
Paris for the regiment, and get the trunks of 
all our officers stored there. Training pro- 
grams were made out and on Tuesday (the 



TIIIAUCOURT SECTOR AND END OF WAR 167 

15th) , the drilling was begun again, but before 
noon had come, orders were received to prepare 
to move by trucks that day, and the troops 
were marched back to their billets and pre- 
pared to move. 

At noon, the kitchens pulled into the village 
and our mail was also brought in on one of 
the wagons, fourteen sacks in all for the men 
of ^^Our Second Battalion.'' It took nearly all 
afternoon to sort the mail and distribute it 
to the companies, the men of which were anx- 
iously awaiting its distribution, for we had 
received no mail since before the drive had 
started. We had hurried-up meals, thinking 
we would move right after dark, but it was 
eight-thirty before we left, marching in the 
rain to the next village of Gironville, where 
our trucks were waiting for us. In these 
trucks, we rode until we reached Pannes and 
from there started to march to the Line. We 
came back a distance of about five kilometres 
over the very same road and route we had trav- 
eled on the trucks and this was anything but 
pleasant for us. 

We then started up another road through 
open country. T^Hiile on this road, it began 
to rain and nearly everyone was disgusted. 
Men wanted to drop out and would have done 
so had there been any shelter from the rain at 
all. About four o'clock in the morning, we 
reached Thiaucourt and were there met by a 



168 OUR SECOND BATTAMON 

guide, who guided us over the hill and down 
into back of the position we were to take over 
from the 37th Division. On account of the 
lateness of the time in the morning and he- 
cause it was just breaking daylight, we could 
not take over the position then and were to 
wait until that night. 

In this place there were numerous little 
German buildings and quite a bit of rations, 
which belonged to the 37th Division and we 
helped lourselves to them. Right after we got 
there, the enemy started to shell us, one shell 
hitting a building, in which part of Company 
F was located, killing Dorphin H. Hoveland, 
Walter Shaefifer and Paul R. Schultz. The 
companies were taken into their position on 
the Line about a kilometre in front of this 
place which was in the vicinity of Jaulny, 
throughout the day and the early part of the 
evening. 

While holding down this sector, which was 
the quietest place we had yet hit, so far as 
attacks and advances were concerned, raids 
were carried on nearly every night. They were 
made for the purpose of obtaining as much 
information as possible about the Germans. 
Very few German patrols were encountered, 
but much information about the position of 
the Germans, their strength, and other data, 
were gathered. 

Every night there was a hard shelling by 



THIAUCOURT SECTOR AND END OF WAR 169 

both sides, it starting about nine o'clock. The 
enemy sent over quite a bit of gas during the 
shelling, it being a very common thing to have 
the gas masks on for hours at a time. During 
one of these bombardments, an aeroplane came 
over and dropped two bombs on top of the 
cave in which Battalion Headquarters were 
established, but no one was wounded. 

Fred B. Boper, of Company F, and Corporal 
Fred Hagan, of Company E, were killed while 
in the front line trenches here, while Corporal 
William T. Cunningham, Ernest B. Fenton 
and Harry Heyman of Company H, were killed 
while on a raiding party at about 1 :30 A. M., 
October 20th, when they were hit with shell 
fire. Bennie Dietrick, of Company G, died at 
the dressing station, after being removed from 
the trenches. 

On Monday night, October 28th, we were re- 
lieved by the 64th Infantry of the 7th Division 
and after marching about fifteen kilometres, 
we reached the Bois de Nonsard, where we 
went into little barracks, which the Germans 
had formerly built and inhaibited. Two days 
after reaching these woods, October 30th, 
Major Dunlap was promoted to the grade of 
Lieut. Colonel, and he, Adjutant Dickson and 
Chaplain Conaty went on leave, while Captain 
Yates D. Fetterman, who had been command- 
ing Company D, was assigned to duty as com- 
mander of ''Our Second Battalion." 



170 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

While in these woods, where we should have 
received a rest, we were put to drilling once 
again and the place assumed the conditions of 
a regular camp. We had all the calls blown, 
from First Call and Reveille in the morning 
to Taps at night. The drilling was carried on 
from eight to eleven -thirty in the morning, and 
from one to four in the afternoon on the fields 
just outside of the woods. Numerous aero- 
planes would come over, but once again, the 
long blast of the whistle would be blown an- 
nouncing the coming and two blasts, the pass- 
ing of the aeroplane. It rained practically all 
the time we were in these woods and when it 
began to rain rather violently, we were 
brought into our barracks. 

At 2:45 on Thursday morning, November 
7th, we received orders to be on the alert and 
be prepared to move at any time. Everybody 
rolled his pack, breakfast was served and we 
awaited the orders to go. There was nothing 
else to do but to lie around and take it easy, 
which we did until shortly after noon, when 
an order came in rescinding the alert order. 

At three o'clock on the morning of Sunday, 
the 10th, we again received orders to prepare 
to move into the lines at once. Breakfast was 
eaten at 4:30, and at five o'clock we started 
marchiQg, reaching St. Benoit at about ten- 
thirty, where we rested for about two hours. 
We then moved through Xammes and reached 



THIAUCOURT SECTOR AND END OF WAR 171 

the Bois de Chary, where we took up position 
for an attack, with Companies E and H in the 
front line and Companies F and G in support. 
In this formation, we left the Bois de Chary 
and crossed a field through a most terrific bar- 
rage until we reached the outer edge of Bois 
de Donmartin. Here, we learned that the at- 
tack, which the First Battalion had made, was 
unsuccessful, and the men from the First Bat- 
talion were coming back through the woods. 
Company H had managed to get a little ahead 
of Company E and, after a little resistance, 
they drove the Germans back to their trenches. 
Company E came up and extended the line on 
the right of Company H and one platoon of 
Company G was sent out on the left of Com- 
pany H, while the remaining platoons of Com- 
pany G and all of Company F were in close 
support. 

While in this position, w^e received orders 
at 4 :10 the next morning, that the advance was 
not to Ih^ continued. At 9 :30 A. M., we received 
the big news that hostilities were to cease at 
eleven o'clock, but it was hard to believe that 
the final barrage of the war had already 
started. Both sides continued to throw shell 
after shell at each other, our casualties being 
four men killed and twenty-three wounded. 

Among those wounded w^ere Earl L. Elliott, 
George T. Ahrendt, Sergeant Ralph H. Wauga- 
man, Harry B. Frost, of Company E, Sergeant 



172 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

Waugaman having his hand shot off at a quar- 
ter of eleven. 

Andrew R. Paul, of Company G, was the 
next to the last man killed, he being killed at 
about 9:30 while sitting in a dugout, and 
Charles A. Gran, of Coinipany E, was the last 
man of "Our Second Battalion" to be killed. 
He was killed from the concussion of an ex- 
ploding shell at five minutes of eleven. 

At last, the war was over, but we could not 
fully realize it. It didn't seem natural for 
everything to be so quiet in that part of the 
country and no one seemed to understand it. 
It appeared like a new world, but we were all 
glad that it was over, for we felt that we had 
played our part in it. We had been in action 
since July 4th, a period of one hundred and 
thirty-one days, and in that time we had occu- 
pied the Front Line 44 days, spent 63 days in 
Support, 15 days in Reserve, and "rested'' be- 
tween Drives and moving from one sector to 
another 9 days. We had lost 5 officers and 
187 men killed, and 21 officers and 947 men 
wounded. We had had a strength of about 
30 officers and 1,000 men when we first went 
into action and had received replacements 
twice. Not only did -^Our Second Battalion" 
suffer so many casualties, but the whole regi- 
ment as well, and our Division ranked fourth 
in the casualty list, the three Divisions ahead 
of it being in France some little time before 
we arrived. 



THIAUCOURT SECTOR AND END OF WAR 173 

At about six o'clock that evening, we started 
to march and marched until two o'clock, when 
we reached the Bois de Nonsard once again 
and went into the barracks. We began to drill 
again and those who were not drilling, were 
out salvaging in the immediate neighborhood 
within a radius of about twelve kilometres. 
The salvaging was continued every day, even 
Sundays. On Thanksgiving day. General Hay, 
the Division Commander, presented the D. S. 
C.'s to the men of our regiment, who were then 
present with the regiment. 

On December 23rd, we moved to the town of 
Hattonville, where we went into houses, out- 
houses and barns. The traiaing was kept up 
here, we getting Christmas and New Years off 
as holidays. Moving pictures were taken of 
"Our Second Battalion" capturing Hatton- 
chattel. On Monday morning, January 6th, 
we began a three days' march towards the 
South, which we were told was our first move 
towards home. On Wednesday, the 8th, we 
reached our destination. Battalion Headquar- 
ters and Companies F and H being stationed 
at Burey-en-Vaux and Companies E and G at 
Sepvigny. 

The drilling and training were carried on in 
the morning for four hours and one hour each 
afternoon for athletics. Numerous and vari- 
ous maneuvers and battalion combat problems, 
in which ta,nks, represented by men, played a 



174 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

praminent part, were worked out during the 
time we were here. 

During the early part of February, the 
whole regiment marched to Domremy, the 
birthplace of Jeanne de Arc, where interesting 
talks were given by Chaplain Head, of the 
First Battalion, at the house in which she was 
bom, and by Chaplain Simoni, of the Third 
Battalion, at the church which had been built 
on the spot where she had her inspiration. 

After the war was finished. Chaplain Conaty 
had been sent home on account of his poor 
physical condition, he having been gassed 
twice. Everybody missed him and regretted 
to see him go, Imt were more thau glad to have 
him leave if it would restore his health. He 
was ever present with the troops, whether on 
the line through the hottest advance, or lying 
in support and reserve. No one was ever more 
welcome than he. The troops of ^^Our Second 
Battalion" will never forget their '^fighting 
Chaplain," as he was called. After Father 
Conaty left, the Battalion was without a Chap- 
lain. 

On a cold day about the middle of February, 
"Our Second Battalion," as w^ell as the rest of 
the regiment, marched to Colombey-les-Belles, 
where the whole Division was reviewed by 
Lieutenant General Robert L. Bullard, Com- 
mander of the Second Army, and under whose 
command our Division had served a good deal 
of the time. 



THIAUCOURT SECTOR AND END OF WAR 175 

When General Pershing reviewed the Divi- 
sion on March 10th, 1919, the troops were car- 
ried to Colombey-les-Belles in trucks. General 
Pershing also awarded additional D. S. C/s to 
the men of the Division and after a short talk, 
the troops rode back to their respective billet- 
ing areas. 

Finally the orders came for our troops to 
move to the embarkation center at Le Mans. 
"Our Second Battalion" marched to Maxey- 
sur-Vaise and there lioarded box cars on Sun- 
day night, March 16th, arriving at the For- 
w^arding Camp in Le Mans about four o'cliock 
Tuesday afternoon. We undertook to get rid 
of the "cooties'- forever while here, and after 
many brave attempts, we were successful. A 
little drilling was carried on here, and we also 
had a trip to the Belgian Gamp, where we shot 
on the rifle range. A three day's field meet was 
held in Le Mans during our stay and about a 
hundred men from each company a day were 
given passes to attend this. 

The final field inspections were made, and 
on April 10th, Troop Movement Orders No. 36, 
Headquarters, American Embarkation Center, 
were issued, directing us to proceed to St. Na- 
zaire. On Sunday, April 13th, we left the For- 
warding Camp and arrived at St. Nazaire be- 
tween two and three o'clock the next morning 
in a heavy rain. We were marched to a part 
of the camp, where we had another "cootie" 



176 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

inspection and then we went over to the Isola- 
tion Camp. The passenger lists were com- 
pleted. Ciompany E, with the rest of the first 
half of the regiment, boarded the U. S. S. 
Minnesotan on Wednesday afternoon, April 
16th, and on Friday afternoon, April 18th, 
Companies F, G and H, and the other half of 
the regiment boarded the TJ. S. S. Kroonland. 
With French people and some American sol- 
diers on the piers cheering and yelling at us, 
we pulled away from the docks and bid fare- 
well to France. 

During the voyage we wore blue denims to 
protect our uniforms and our life preservers 
for about the first three days, this for fear we 
might hit a floating mine. Men were detailed 
to help fire the boilers of the Kroonland, be- 
cause there was a shortage of help. At about 
the middle of the ocean, the ship sprang a 
leak and had ten feet of water in it. The vessel 
was listed on one side for about a day, but 
the water was pumped out and we finished the 
journey with no further mishaps. 

On Sunday night, the 27th, and on Tuesday 
morning, the 29th, we beheld "God's Country'^ 
once again, and we had never seen a more wel- 
come sight in all our lives than we did then. 
After landing at New York, we crossed the 
river in ferry boats to Hoboken, where special 
trains awaited us and carried us to Camp Dix, 
Wrightstown, N. J. 



THIAUCOURT SECTOR AND END OF WAR 177 

On Wednesday and Thursday, we got our 
final cootie bath and issued some new cloth- 
ing. On Friday, the whole regiment was ready 
to come to Pittsburgh to parade, as had been 
arranged. The men from "Our Second Bat- 
talion'' who were from the eastern part of 
Pennsylvania were discharged at Camp Dix, 
while the men from outside of Pittsburgh, 
Ohio and West Virginia, were sent on to the 
camps nearest their homes to be discharged. 
We had our last review before Colonel Shan- 
non at Camp Dix, and bid goodbye to our com- 
rades who were going on to other camps to be 
discharged. 

On Tuesday afternoon. May 6th, we left 
Camp Dix and arrived in Pittsburgh at six 
o'clock the next morning, when we got some 
coffee and sandwiches from the Red Cross. We 
then marched to the Syria Mosque, where a 
fine breakfast was served. After that, we went 
to Forbes Field. While we were forming for 
the parade, an awful outburst of rain began, 
and in this, at four o'clock, we began our 
march through the city. We received a fine re- 
ception all along the route, and it made us feel 
very good. Our equipment was a light pack, 
helmets and fixed bayonets. Ovation after 
ovation was given us as we marched down 
through crowded throngs. After the march, 
we boarded the same train at East Canal Street 
on the North Side and went on through to 



178 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

Camp Sherman, Ohio, arriving there the next 
morning. The first thing they did was to have 
a physical examination, and after this was 
through, we were put into barracks. 

The discharges, payrolls and final papers 
were prepared and signed. On Tuesday, May 
13th, the first man of ^^Our Second Battalion" 
was discharged, and on Friday, May 16th, the 
last man of "Our Second Battalion'^ was dis- 
charged at Camp Sherman. Many farewell 
parties were held in the City of Columbus, 
while some of the men went immediately from 
camp to their homes. 

"Our Second Battalion" was now an army of 
civilians, but no one of the men who served 
with this Battalion will ever forget or regret 
the time we were together, going through sor- 
rows and pleasures side by side through those 
momentous days. 



APPENDIX 



APPENDIX 181 



APPENDIX 



REGIMENTAL STREAMERS WON 
BY THE REGIMENT 

CHATEAU-THIERKY 

July 7-14, 1918. 

CHAMPAGNE-MARNE DEFENSIVE 
July 15-18, 1918. 

AISNE-MARNB OFFENSIVE 
July 18-August 6, 1918. 

FISMES SECTOR 
August 7-September 3, 1918. 

OISE-AISNE OFFENSIVE 

September 4-7, 1918. 

MEUSE-ARGONNE OFFENSIVE 
September 26-October 9, 1919. 

THIAUCOURT SECTOR — TOUL 
October 16-November 11, 1919. 



182 OUR SECOND BATTALION 



KOSTER 

Abbreviations 
K.I.A. — Killed in Action, or Died of Wounds. 
W. — Wounded. 

D.S.C. — Distinguished Service Cross. 
Com. — rCommissioned. 
A.C.S. — Sent to Army Candidates School. 



BATTALION HEADQUARTERS 

BATTALION COMMANDERS 
Colonel WiLUAM R. Duni^ap 
Captain Yates D. Fetterman 
Major W. R. McAdams 
Major WiLUAM W. GuL 

BATTALION ADJUTANTS 
Captain Joseph A. Dickson 
First Lieutenant John H. Earl 

BATTALION SCOUT OFFICERS 
Captain Richard H. O'Brien — W. 
First Lieutenant William J. Schaai^— W. 
First Lieutenant Howard Melunger — W. 
First Lieutenant Walter L. Trainer— W. 

BATTALION GAS OFFICER 
First Lieutenant John S. Anderson 

BATTALION CHAPLAIN 
First Lieutenant Charles C. Conaty— D.S.C. 
W. (two times) 

BATTALION MEDICAL OFFICERS 
Captain Clifford H. Arnold — W. 

(two times) 
Captain William F. GuilfoylE — K.I.A. 
First Lieutenant Harvey S. Fontaine— W. 
First Lieutenant George Showalter — ^W. 
First Lieutenant Thomas J. Kelly 
First Lieutenant Robert L. Griffith— W. 



APPENDIX 183 

BATTALION SUPPLY OFFICER 
First Lieutenant Paul T. LaPaze 

BATTALION SERGEANTS MAJOR 
George W. Cooper— W.; A.C.S. 
Donald A. Fuller 

BATTALION GAS NON-COMMISSIONED 
OFFICER 
Sergeant Roy R. Zimmers— W. 

BATTALION MAIL ORDERLY 
Corporal Harold Zulaue — W. 

BATTALION MOUNTED ORDERLIES 
Corporal Henhy C. Haines— W. 
James D. Lynch 

BATTALION COOK 
Edwin C. Merrieield 



COMPANY ^^E'' 

OFFICERS 
Captain Louis H. Felding — K.I.A. 
Captain Yates D. Fetterman 
First Lieutenant James C. BodEn — W. 
First Lieutenant William E. Burch, Jr. 
First Lieutenant Ralph S. Busch, K.I.A. 
First Lieutenant William E. HelliwEll, 

U. S. as Instructor 
First Lieutenant Frank C. Johnston 
First Lieutenant William J. Schaal — W. 
Second Lieutenant Karl W. Lott 
Second Lieutenant Frank W. Mehrten — W. 
Second Lieutenant Milton R. Miller 
Second Lieutenant Nathaniel Muir 
Second Lieutenant CharlEs E. Ruhe 
Second Lieutenant Smith 

FIRST SERGEANTS 
Benjamin Praeger— D.S.C. ; W. 
James Hill, Jr.— W. 



184 



OUR SECOND BATTALION 



SERGEANTS 



William R. Altman— W. 

Alexander H. Ambrose — W. 

Edward J. Bayne— W. 

David S. Black— W. 

Rowland C. Carter— W. 

John S. Cherry 

Edward D. Clemmer — W. 

Robert Cleeland— A.C.S. 

David A. Dilworth— W. 

John H. Eiffler— W. 

Leo Faley — W. 

Wm. B. Frederick— W., Com. 

George A. Garry 

Glenn W. Goodenow — W. 

Walter H. Goscenski 

Charles E. Herbert 

William Hopkins — W. 

Floyd C. Johnston— W. 

George W. Kelly— W. 



Thomas F. Kelly— W. 
Lon M. Kidwell— W. 
Albert H. Morris— A.C.S. 
John E. Robinson — 

U. S. as Instructor 
Robert A. Robinson — W. 
Raymond G. Rowbottom — 

D.S.C. 
Joseph A. Schwartzer — W. 
John W. Storey 
Robert R. Tupper— W. 
John V. Vanaerschot — K.LA 
Ralph H. Waugaman — W. 

(two times) 
William H. Whiteside— W. 
Witney Wright — Com, 
George C. Yerkins — W. 
Roy R. Zimmers — ^W. 



CORPORALS 



Frank J. Bollacker— W. 
Peden T. Boyce— A.C.S. 
Joe Burton 
James Caldron — W. 
Homer J. Carter— W. 
Clifton M. Casey— K.LA. 
Gordon L. Clawson 
George T. Cohee— W. 
Charles Cooley— K.LA. 
John J. Dignan — W. 
Aloysius F. Dineen — W. 
John A. Dougherty 
Robert H. English 
Fred Hagen— K.LA. 
Wm. G. Johnston— W. 
Claude J. Koontz— W. 
Howard H. Lutz— K.LA. 
William McKeag — ^W. 



James R. MacKenney — K.LA. 
Clarence D. Manuel — W. 
Gustav F. Miehe— W. 
John H. Miller— W. 
John P. Munro— W. 
Bernard J, Myers 
James R. Patton— W. 
Nelson K. Ross 
Charles H. Rouch— W. 
Bennett L. Sebold— W. 
Clarence G. Schneider— K.LA. 
Harry H. Shepherd— W. 
James F. Stevenson — W. 
John A. Turanek— W. 
George F. Wagner — W. 
Roscoe J. Waugaman — W. 
William T. Wiest— W. 
Alfred Zander— W. 



COOKS 

Sherman T. Beatty— W. Chester Friedman— W. 

Irwin W. Eversmeir— W. Clarence Rose 



APPENDIX 



185 



Archie Burns 
Howard M. Kennedy 



MECHANICS 

Frank Marks 
Joseph Mehl — W. 



Lester G. Stevens 



BUGLERS 

James Watkins 



PRIVATES 



Herbert Ackers 

Martin F. Action — W. 

George T. Ahrendt— W. 

Wilson Altman — W. 

A. O. Anderson 

James W. Anderson — W. 

John W. Anderson 

O. P. Anderson 

Louis Angelis — W. 

Charles Arion 

Raoul Aubin 

John Baran— K.I.A. 

William R. Barclay— K.I.A. 

Albert R. Barnes— W. 

Henry J. Becker— K.I.A. 

Aaron O Beem 

William H. Beltz 

Henry Bendell 

George W. Bibb 

John Billings 

Adoiph Blazer 

Bradner Blom 

Gustav J. Blume— W. 

Earl F. Bmoison 

Dale S. Boyle— W. 

Earl S. Bowers 

Thoma? Bradley— W. 

Frank J. Brady 

Edward Breer 

John Bresselschmidt 

Richard Briody 

Ellsworth Brown 

George Brown 

Nelson J. Brown— W. 

Nelson Brown 

Robert Brown 

John Buchanan 



Hoken Burg 

Benjamin C. Bryan 

Leonard Callendar 

John J. Casey 

Thomas Cavanaugh 

Charles Christian 

George S. Clark 

James Clem 

John H. Coburn— W. 

Henry Coester — W. 

Hymen Cohen 

Frank Cole 

Louis Cole 

Benjamin Cook — W. 

Herman Conn 

John F. Connolly 

Joseph Connolly 

Bernard R. Connor 

Raymond Conrader — W. 

Thomas C. Conroy 

Roy Cox 

Clement Cozzi 

Archie Cragg 

Vivian Cross 

Burt Crum— K.I.A. 

Clarence L. Crusemire — W. 

Floyd Culler 

Earl A. Cunningham — W. 

Marion J. Daems 

John H. Dean 

Walter Deats 

Clarence Decker 

James DeLaney 

Stanley Detegouski 

Vincent Devlin 

A. Diaz— K.I.A. 

Filippo Diurazzo 



186 



OUR SECOND BATTAIJON 



PRIVATES— (Continued) 



Nick DiYuillius— W. 

William F. Donatt— W. 

John Dougherty 

Nick Doukakes — W. 

George Downs 

Helmar Dragseth— K.I.A. 

Hie Duits 

Howard A. Dunbar — W. 

(two times) 
Francis A. Earley 
Jesse M. Ebberts 
Addison Edsall 
Craig S. Edward 
David J. Edward 
Alfred C. Edwardson 
Edward E. EUars 
Earl L. Elliott— W. 
Wesley J. Englert 
Edward Eppley — K.I.A. 
Louis Erny — W. 
Giuseppi S. Eugenio — W. 
Roy R. Farver— W. 
Rodger J. Fay 
William Feldstein 
Albert E. Fisher— K.I.A. 
Roy Fisher 
Joseph H. Flynn — W. 
Nick Forsburg 
William Fowler 
Salvatore Fratto— K.I.A. 
Clyde W. Friend 
Emiel Fritsch— W. 
Harry B. Frost— W. 
Russel G. Fuhon— K.I.A. 
Gerald E. Gagle— W. 
Ludwig Galczyn — K.I.A. 
Charles Garguilo— K.I.A. 
John Gass 
Cloyd Gates— W. 
Edward F. Gatley 
John T. Geertson 
George J. Georgeson — W. 
Gus Geyer 
Ole Germundsen 
Vernon Gilbert 



James P. Gorman — W. 

George A. Gorseth 

Reid W. Gilman— W. 

Elmer Grabowsky 

Charles A. Gran— K.I.A. 

Floyd A. Gray 

Garland J. Green 

O. Grieshaber— K.I.A. 

William Groll 

Adam Grumczuski — K.I.A. 

Leon Grzebowski 

A. Habersleben— K.I.A. 

Fred Hagen— K.I.A. 

John Hagerman 

Virgil D. Hansford 

Charles Harris 

George B. Hawkins 

Raymond D. Heaton — W. 

Cloys C. Hendley 

James Henley 

Edward F. Hermann — W. 

Thomas Herron — K.I.A. 

Joseph A. Hersperger 

Frank W. Hetherington 

Lon N. Hickman — W. 

Arthur Hicks 

Roy Hiller 

George Hoey 

Albert Hoesch 

Vernon C. Hoflfman— K.I.A. 

Joseph G. Hofifmayer — W. 

William Hollinger 

Henry Holt 

Joseph Hornynak 

William Israel 

Peter Jacobson 

Felix Jatczak 

Harvey B. Johns 

Carl Johnson 

Harry Johnson 

Jam.es Johnson 

John Johnson 

William Judge 

David D. Kelley 

Walter J. Knabe 



APPENDIX 



187 



PRIVATES— (Continued) 



Henry J. Kohring 
Francis M. Krall— K.I.A. 
Arnold O. Krebs— W. 
Harry Krefner 
Arthur Kron 
Mike Lacelle 
William E. Lane 
George Lambesis 
Arthur Larson 
Merle F. Lee 
Joseph Leonard 
Harry J. Lesovitz 
Elmer L. Lettie 
Irvin M. London 
Hobson C. Lucas 
George C. MacWilliams 
Frank J. McGarry 
James McGranihan — W. 
John H. McKenna 
Walter McMaster 
Clarence C. Mack 
Llewellyn Maddon — W. 
Alfred Magnusson 
Ralph L. Mallory— W. 

(two times) 
Luigi Mamala 
Patsy Marcattili 
Donald C. Marcy 
Reigh A. Marietta — W. 
Aloysius J. Meisinger 
Joseph H. Mellon 
Carl L Merritt 
Clarence W Merryman 
Guy F. Meyers 
Arthur E. Mickas — W. 
Anthony Mikolaitis — W. 
Frederick Miller 
Frederick W. Miller— W. 
Max Mitalski 
Wiktor Monit— W. 
Merrit E. Montgomery — 

K.I.A. 
Joseph Moore 
Buddie Morgan 
Oscar Murphy 



Edmund Nelson 
Richard A. Nelson 
George Nenner 
Jack K. Nolan— W. 
Joseph R. Nolan — W. 
James J. Noon, Jr. — W. 
Edward Nowak 
Joseph H. Oldham 
Seth Olson 
Daniel G. O'Neil— W. 
William J. O'Neil 
Edward W. Opeldopel 
George F. Orzel 
Charles Parker— W. 
Carmino Pasquina 
John H. Patterson 
Kenneth Phillips 
Frank Pierson 
Sam Pistronk 
John Plotecki 
Joseph Pokrywiecki 
Roy T. Pongratz 
Peter Poulin 
Gerald O. Quigley 
Lloyd D. Ramsey— K.LA. 
James Rattray 
Albert Reath 
Joseph Reese 
Bernard C. Rice 
Edd Ridenour 
Stanley Rogowski 
Adolph H. Rose— W. 
Harold Rowe 
Warren C. Rum ford— W. 
Stanley Rogowski 
Angelo Scacchi 
James E. Schilliday — W. 
Bernard Schmelling 
George Schmidt 
Edward Schall 
John Schultz 
Leo Schultz 
Arthur Schutt 
Lawrence Schwartz 
Hugh Scott 



188 



OUR SECOND BATTALION 



PRIVATES- 
Ernest J. Seib — W. 
Alfred Selchow 
Charles Senkbeil 
Peter Sepalwski 
Fred Seyferth 
Arthur Sheridan 
Albert Sikorski 
George W. Sincox— K.LA. 
Daniel Slattery 
Charles E. Smith 
Frank W. Smith 
George F. Smith— W. 
Tom Smith— W. 
Vernon W. Smith— W. 
Edward B Southern 
Henrj' J. Sparks 
Peter Spoden 
Julius Spoon 
Edward St. Marie 
Morris Steiner 
Samuel S. Stevens 
George Stewart — W. 
J. Statlemeyer 
John R. Strockbine 
John Swan 
Al Swanson 
Joseph Switalski 
Alex Sznyter 
Charles C. Taylor 



—(Continued) 
Ellis Tennant— K.LA. 
Ben Theilke 
Matthew Thompson 
Florence Travaglini — K.LA. 
David L. Trax 
Frank Turanek — W. 
Otto Utterbach 
George C. Valant 
Galop Valentine — K.LA. 
Ernest J. Vnier 
Warren Vipond 
August C. Vitters 
Stephen Wagner 
Ivan Walker 

Samuel P. Watkinso— K.LA. 
Carl Weigle 
Lawrence R. Welsh 
Hugh Werblow 
Sam Weisberg 
Harry Weiss 
Chester C. Wheeler— W. 
Ivan White 
Patsy Wicki 
Earl T. Williams— W. 
John B. Wilson 
Barthron Wing 
Daniel W. Wingard— W. 
Clifford E. Yerkins— W. 



APPENDIX 189 



COMPANY "F" 

OFFICERS 
Captain John M. Clarke — K.I.A. 
Captain William W. Harper 
First Lieutenant Frederick C. Martsole 
First Lieutenant Thomas A. Merryweather— W. 
First Lieutenant Charles E. Rigby 
Second Lieutenant William M. Brazelton — W. 
Second Lieutenant Willard Ewing — W. 
Second Lieutenant Warren M. HubEr — W. 
Second Lieutenant Fred W. Klingensmith — W. 
Second Lieutenant Harry M. Krohn 
Second Lieutenant William E. Petty 
Second Lieutenant Marcel Von Bergey — K.LA. 

FIRST SERGEANTS 
Frank M. Stanley — W. Howard Fisher 

Matthew Turner — W. 

SERGEANTS 

Ozro N. Barclay — A.C.S. Lawrence E. Moore — W. 

James R. Beasley — K.LA. Harry J. Naylor — W. 

Charles F. Beck— W. Kurt B. Nelson— W. 

Arthur Clark— W. Charles N. Nuss— W. 

Gordon F. Craighead — Com. Adolph J. Padofka 

Heber D. Davis Raymond F. Peacock — 
Arnold O. Dunkle— K.I.A. W. ; Com. 

James A. Flanagan Thomas S. Robinson— K.I.A. 

James I. Fratt Russell H. Sigmund — W. 

Harry K. Hall — W. Maurice E. Simoncini 

John L. Harnack Raymond J. Simmons 

William E. Henry— K.I.A. Albert C. Simpson— W. 

James P. Herron — K.I.A. Norman Sperry 
George Y. Keenan— W. ; A.C.S Arthur Swenson 

Herman Krautstrunk Willis O. Thrash 

Raymond J. Leppold — W. Warren B. Washington 

George H. List — W. George E. Weibush 

Harry McLaughlin — K.I.A. Alvin C. Wenzelburger 

CORPORALS 

William C. Bailey Edward Bruneel 

Norbert C. Beecher Paul J. Burgun 

Walter L. Bretall Payson L. Gardner 



190 



OUR SECOND BATTALION 



CORPORALS— (Continued) 



Herman Cohen 
Florence H. Crist 
(Company Clerk) 
John C. Danheiser 
Franklin A. Dutill 
John Flaherty — W. 
Fred C. Gault— W. 
Michael Gehrmann 
Allen G. Harley— W. 
Reeves W. Hendershot — W. 
William J. Hennessey 
Russell A. Hennig 
William V. Hull— W. 
Harold E. Kelly— K.LA. 
Ellis J. Kingery 
William C. Knott 
Earl Kramer — W. 
Thomas H. Milligan 
Earl C. Mitchell 
Albert A. Murray — W. 
William Myers 
Robert E. Netherton 



Frank A. Nyberg 

Pines Ogden 

John G. Pedicord— K.LA. 

Ernest Phillips— K.LA. 

Maurice E. Porter — K.LA. 

George Powell 

Julian A. Reyne 

George K. Rodenbaugh — W. 

Frank J. Rusch— W. 

Stanley Rybarcyk 

Michael Serafin 

Leon E. Searle 

Lewis W. Speer — W. 

Peryl H. Speer— W. 

Charles F. Stencel 

Robert R. Thomson 

Joseph Van Fossen — W. 

Leroy H. Wallace— W. 

Robert A. Watts 

Milo G. Whitehill— K.LA. 

Sam D. Waybright 



John J. Cully 
Ernest Dewell 
Jacob D. Ganger — W. 



COOKS 

Russell C. Englehart 
William Jones 
John E. Pfarr 



MECHANICS 
John J. Clark William H. Remus— W. 

Frank W. Keenan— W. William J. Walker 

Harry Miller — W. Fred W. Wandershek 

Raymond D. Miller Frank V. Woods 



Benjamin H. Dickey 
John H. Jardin 



BUGLERS 

Eli C. Pickell 



Antonio J. Almedia 
Joseph J. Altenhofen 
Carl N. Anderson— K.LA. 
Edgar Annis 
George Armstrong — K.LA 



PRIVATES 

Alfred Ashbridge 
John Bachman 
William C. Bailey 
Daniel L. Begley 
David N. Betz 



APPENDIX 



191 



PRIVATES— 



Harry A. Bennett— W. 

Herbert W. Best— K.IA. 

Clements Bischoff— K.IA. 

Milton H. Blair 

Nicolay Bokunow — W. 

Claude F. Booz 

Giuseppi Brienza — W. 

Alexander Britt 

John F. Brockelman 

Harry F. Brogan 

Samuel W. Brooks 

Irving S. Brown 

Jacob Bryan — W. 

Jacob W. Burch 

Walter A. Burke 

Augustine N. Burns 

Samuel E. Burns 

William B. Burns 

James S. Bush 

Bernard J. Carrick 

Filiberto Cassali 

Russell S. Cassel 

William Cassidy 

Harry Chandle 

Harold G. Chapman— W. 

William K. Christiansen 

Oscar F. Church 

John J. Clark 

Bryan J. Clugston, K. I. A. 

Linnie M. Cooper 

John Copena — W. 

Louis O. Cox 

Stephen Cravits 

Reuben Crouthamel 

Frank A. Daley 

Frithjof A. Davidson 

Joseph A. Dernback 

Walter Devereaux 

Ernest Dewell 

Joseph Donvito — K.IA. 

Kenneth M. Dunkle— W. 

Michael J. Durkin — W. 

Arthur Dutill— K.I.A. 

William E. Dutill 

Emery W. Duvall 



(Continued) 
James C. Earl— W. 
David M. Ellen— W. 
Roy M. Eldridge 
Joseph Ellis 
Charles L. Ely— W. 
James Evans — K.I.A. 
Harry W. Fat 
Raymond Feiser 
George E. Ferguson — K.I.A. 
Neil Ferguson — W. 
Joseph J. Ferry — W. 
Michael Fiore — W. 
Thomas J. Fitzgerald 
Francis E. Fleming 
Nathaniel Forbes 
James H. Foster— K.I.A. 
Lee M. Foster— K.I.A. 
John G. Frank— W. 
Andrew Frew — W. 
John E. Funk 
Serventi Germando 
Paul Giallongo 
Vito Giovaniello 
Frank Gollo 

Gustave Gonsuron — K.I.A. 
Joseph A. Gorman 
John L. Greer 
Albert J. Groff— W. 
Burton P. Guilefuss— K.I.A. 
Thomas Guzzaro 
John E. Hack 
Oscar G. Hagberg 
Harold Haigh 
Edward Haines 
Lee Hargis — W. 
Henry L. Harrell 
Benjamin Hartman 
Norbert J. Haven 
Harmer D. Hawkins — W. 
Russell A. Henning — W. 
Franklin Herman — W. 
Floyd L. Hines 
William J. Hines 
James Hogan 
btto F. Hopp 



192 



OUR SECOND BATTALION 



PRIVATES— (Continued) 



Ralph Houltram 
Myron E. Hovda 
Dorphin H. Hoveland — 

K.LA. 
Jacob A. Howard 
Charles M. Humphrey 
Talmage J. IngersoU 
Adolph R. Jaeger 
William R, Jardine 
Henry P, Jenkins 
James E. Jennings— K.LA. 
Henning P. Johnson 
William A. Jones— K.LA. 
Antoni Karzewski 
John B. Kersnick 
Louis Kesner 
John F. Kingren 
Franklin P. Kirk 
Emil E. Klatt 
Fred W. Kleinschmidt 
Floyd W. Knapp 
Fred J. Koch 
Demetrios Kotas 
Edward Krepley 
Will Krohn 
E. A. Krueger 
Herbert O. Krueger 
Walter F. Krueger 
John A. Kubin 
Robert H. Lane 
Harry Large— K.LA. 
Lonnie W. Lawrence — W. 
Philip H. Lawrence 
Richard R. Lawrence 
Benjamin Lawson 
John R. Lawson 
William A. Lebens 
Clarence C. Lee— W. 
John Legosky 
Jake Leick 

William A. Letzkus— W. 
John F. Ley— K.LA. 
Nickolas Liebfried — W. 
Edward N. Lighbown— W. 
Robert R. Lindsey 



Oscar A. Lindstrom 
James Longstreth — W. 
Andrew Lott — W. 
Otis C. Lovan 
Mason Lucas — W. 
Carl H. Lucht 
Carl A. Lundahl 
Joseph E. Lybarger — W. 
Joseph McCabe — W. 
William McCaffery— W. 
Harry B. McCarthy— W. 
Daniel P. McCormick — W. 
Stanley McDowell — W. 
Whitmer R. McGregor 
Isaac McShane— K.LA. 
Fred Maas — W. 
Otto Mahler— W. 
Gust Maple 
Louis Marabello 
Thomas M. Alartin — W. 
Anthony Mastronaridi 
Bennie Mellesmoen 
George Messina — K.LA. 
Severio Migiaccio — W. 
Harry C. Miller 
William J. Miskell 
Nicola Monaco 
Norman E. Moore 
Morris Morreale 
Charlie Morris— K.LA. 
John J. Mullaney— K.LA. 
Edward J. Murphy 
Oscar Myran 
George E. Neely— K.I.A. 
Elmer J. Nestor 
Paul J. Nickel 
Charles S. Nippes 
Harlan J. Noblit— W. 
Lewis W. Nuss— K.LA. 
Harry O'Hara— K.I.A. 
John O'Learskey — W. 
Paul L. Omo— K.LA. 
James A. Pacheli 
Arthur J. Palmer — W. 
Fred T. Palmer 



APPENDIX 



193 



PRIVATES— (Continued) 



Victor Parisien 

Louis Parks 

Harry L. Parsons 

Albert A. Paschall 

Raleigh Patterson 

Tames H. Patton 

Guy Paul— W. 

Vincent S. Pearson— K.LA. 

Herbert C. Pease, 

Mike Pedi 

William A. Pekarek 

Isaac E. Pendleton— K.LA. 

Arthur Peters, 

William B. Peters 

Norman C. Pfleger— K.LA. 

William A. Pfingston 

Elmer J. Pierson 

John F. Pitterman 

Hugh P. Porter— W. 

Peter G. Poterala 

Leonard Powell 

John C. Pressman — K.LA. 

Charles A. Printz— W. 

Salvan Professe 

William Queder 

Emil C. Rabe 

Ottavio Regginelli 

Ray E. Remington 

Thomas D. Reno 

Henry A. Rettke 

Frank Rimmert 

Andrew Ritsig 

Fred B. Roper— K.LA. 

John Rodzinkynas 

Arthur E. Rosing 

John J. Rowland — W. 

Justus H. Russell 

Joseph Sailer 

Joseph Sawatzki 

Clayton F. Schadle— W. 

William Scheble 

George J. Schilling 

Harry C. Schilling 

Armin F. Schneider 

Edward Schreckongost 



Albert E. Schultz— W. 
Joseph C. Schultz— W. 
Paul R. Schultz— K.LA. 
Samuel W. Schultz 
Bill G. Seferls 
Lester Seiner 
Antonio Sergi — W. 
Casper Severson 
Ira S. Shaeffer— K.I.A. 
Walter Shaeffer— K.LA. 
Harry W. Shafer 
Eddie Shaw 
Elliott E. Shedd— W. 
Howard C. Shelly— K.LA. 
Claude F. Shelton 
Milton W. Shephard 
Walter I. Shultis 
John E. Skamfor 
Antonio Skronski — W. 
David H. Slagle— K.LA. 
John L. Smith 
Michael Smith 
William Smith— W. 
Henry H. Solberg 
Syvert A. J. Sorum 
Raymond D. Sproull 
Joseph P. Staiger 
Thomas L. Stainsby 
Herman Stamm 
Carl A. Stark 
Frederick G. Steinger — W. 
William Stevennett 
Samuel D. Stewart — W. 
Frank J. Stivason 
Edgar Stoner— K.LA. 
Samuel W. Stull— W. 
Herbert Swanson 
Robert B. Swenson 
V/illiam L. Taubel— W. 
William E. Taylor 
Harold C. Todd— K.LA. 
Michael Traintafillu 
Paul K. Truchinski 
Everett R. Trahey— W. 
Roy H. Troop— W. 



194 



OUR SECOND BATTALION 



PRIVATES- 
Emanuel Tschippert — K.I. A. 
Ralph A. Wabiszewski 
Frederick Wagner 
Clyde C. Waitley 
Harry W. Warren 
Richard R. Walters 
Fremont D. West 
Robert Wharton 
Elbert Whorton— K.I.A. 
Lewis Wilham — W. 
William H. Williams 



—(Continued) 
Rowland C. Williams 
Bennie A. Wilson 
John Winniewicz — W. 
Leslie L. Wolcott 
Edwin C. Wolff 
Fred Wollenberg 
John Yanno — W. 
Herman Youngren 
Joseph Yule 
William Yule 
Isadore Zeiner — K.LA. 



COMPANY "G' 



OFFICERS 
Captain Arthur L. Schlqsser— K.I.A. 
Captain Richard H. O'Brien — W. 
Captain Harry D. Saddler 

First Lieutenant Thomas J. Cavanaugh— D.S.C. ; W. 
First Lieutenant John H. Earl 
First Lieutenant Thomas A. Robertson— W. 
First Lieutenant Walter L. Trainer — W. 
Second Lieutenant Frank Batta— D.S.C. ; W. 

Second Lieutenant Malcolmson — W. 

Second Lieutenant John Reed 
Second Lieutenant Gerrold E. Robinson— W. 
(two times) 



FIRST SERGEANTS 
John W. Thompson— D.S.C. 
Frank R. Malone 



A.C.S. 



SERGEANTS 



Frank E. Andrea — 

K.LA. ; D.S.C. 
Albert Atkinson— K.I.A. 
George M. Atkinson — W. 
Frank E. Charleton 
Harry C. Cole— W. 
Byron A. Cornell 
Patrick J. Cronin 
Douglas Earl — Com. 



James Flanagan — K.I.A. 
George W. Fryling— K.I.A. 
Charles C. Gruber 
Arthur Glennon 
Francis J. Hans — W. 
James J. Hogan 
Frank J. Hoxworth— K.I.A. 
Raymond Long 
Patrick S. McConville 



APPENDIX 



195 



SERGEANTS— ('Continued) 



Frank McNeally 
Harry A. Mariani — W. 
Harvey W. Moorehead 
Charles J. Opperman 
Raymond P. SchoUer 
Andrew E. Smith 



Fredoline C. Smith— A.C.S. 
William Sohrbeck 
Thomas H. Stover 
Charles Swartzlander 
Russell Trauger 
Frederick S. Wertenbach — W. 



CORPORALS 



Mathew R. Ambrose — W. 

Francis J. Armstrong 

John L. Black— W. 

John Bortkbitch 

Nick Bradley— W. 

John C. Brodie 

Frank J. Brown 

Floyd F. Buckell 

Frank Carter 

Guy Cates 

Victor A. Craig 

Norman C. Detweiler 

Edward Doyle— K.I.A. 

Walter J. Dutcher— K.I.A. 

George T. Duvall 

John W. Fackenthall— K.I.A. 

Raymond A. Flowers — W. 

Elmer W. Fluck— W. 

William J. Fonash — W. 

George W. Freyer — W. 

Goffin M. Friday 

Albert Fries, Jr. 

Alvin B. Geddes 



Paul Helsel— W. 

George Hindsley — W. 

Charles Hollinsworth 

Edward L. Kelley 

Herbert W. Knorr 

Russell F. Kolbe 

Grant Kunkle— W. 

William Madden 

Frank S. Merry — W. 

Albert Miller— W. 

Philip Mistrett— W. 

James D. Moore— D.S.C., W. 

VVilliam H. Peterson 

Cain Ross 

Raymond L. Rutherford — W. 

Robert R. Schrope 

Earl Seiner 

Lesley P. Steele 

Raymond Tate 

Philip R. Thomas 

Noah S. Trauger 

John Walters — W. 



William Bregan 
James Deleo 
Joseph Kostrzewski 



John L. Atkinson 
Frank Carter 
John W. Rose 



Robert G. Capes— W. 
Russell B. Gulick 



COOKS 

Martin J. Nowak 
Paul O. Weierbach 
Irvin B. Woosley 

MECHANICS 

Walter Sambola 
Nathaniel S. Seery 

BUGLERS 

Andrew H. Schott 



196 



OUR SECOND BATTALION 



PRIVATES 



William E. Adams 

Ole Allestad 

Jacob Alsaker 

Alfred N. Anderberg 

Elia Atriano— K.I.A. 

Will M. Baker 

Albert S. Balmforth 

John Earner 

Arthur J. Barron 

Thomas L. Barron 

John Battis 

Albert Beck 

Kinsey Bennett 

Oscar G. Berberich — W. 

Jalmer Berg 

Luigi Bermabei — W. 

Philip F. Bertles 

William E. Bertles 

Frank J. Binder 

Arthur Bisbing 

Harold Bishop 

George B. Little 

Figlia Boardio 

Clarence R. Bobine — W. 

William E. Boobel 

Felix J. Borths 

Lewis W. Boss— W. 

Lewis A. Bregan — W. 

William J. Brennan— K.I.A. 

Albert Brewer— K.I.A. 

William G. Brownlee 

John Bucheli— W. 

Morlan H. Buck 

Robert L. Bucktel 

Oledith Bullock 

John W. Busse 

John E. Calhoun 

Giovanni Camalie — K.LA. 

Henry J. Campbell— W. 

John Caquatto— W. 

Howard Case— K.I.A. 

Leo T. Cemka 

Joseph Charlton 

George W. Clark 

Frank L. Cogswell 



Elix Coluski 
Arthur H. Crossley 
Homer L. Dalton 
James Dargenezio — W. 
Willie B. Davis— K.I.A. 
Stefano Dematus — W. 
Rene Desmudt 
Norman Detweiler 
George Dodson 
John Donahue — W. 
John G. Dontrick— W. 

(two times) 
Wesley J. Draeger 
Simon Drangenis 
Robert Dressier 
Linn Dubowig 
Clyde I. Dugley 
Norman B. Dunn 
Dempsie D. Dye 
Russell F. Eastburn 
John B. Elmore 
Alfred Erdmann 
Wallace D. Ernest 
Frederick J. Evans 
William M. Faust 
Herbert Fell— W. 
Raymond C. Fey 
Frank M. Flack— W. 
Ernest W. Forsberg 
Lowry G. Foutz 
Clinton E. Franklin 
Archie C. Galiery 
Charles E. Garner 
George C. Galend— W. 
Peter Gallo 
Jesse Gehrt 
John S. Gibson 
Frank W. Gilmore— W. 
Roy R. Glascock 
Harrison M. Glover 
John H. Gozlick 
Clarence H. Gray 
Charles D. Green 
Hans P. Grimm 
Clifton C. Hamilton 



APPENDIX 



197 



PRIVATES— (Continued) 



Hugh F. Hannon — W. 

Norman H. Harrison 

Charles F. Hart 

Walter Harvey— K.I.A. 

Benjamin F. Haught 

Alfred Hellerman— W. 

Sam Hemett 

Emory A. Henderson 

Frank D. Herbert— K.I.A. 

Henry E. Hoak— W. 

Walter F. Hoff 

Clarence Holdsworth 

John E. Hoffmaster 

August Holmberg 

Jesse A. Howell 

Frank Hughes— K.I.A. 

Basil T. Isherwood— K.I.A. 

Jake A. Israel — W. 

Joseph Janocha 

Clarence W. Johns 

Andy Johnson 

Arthur P. Johnson 

Edwin J. Johnson 

Fred J. Johnson — W. 

John Johnson 

Claude W. Johnston— K.I.A. 

Julius O. Karcher 

Louis B. Kerns 

Leo J. Kern— W. 

Warren Keiser — K.I.A. 

Axel R. E. Klingborg 

Joseph Komeski 

Albert T. Korslin 

Jacob Kostyal— W. 

Frank L. Krienes 

Joe Kuehl 

Harry Kulos 

Oscar M. Kyrk 

Arthur Landes 

Ben Lapinski — W. 

(two times) 
Andrew Latzy 
Maurice Lazar — K.I.A. 
Fred Laubham 
Glen Lemler 



Lawrence Lescanac — K.I.A. 

Julius Levitan 

Robert E. Liddy 

Frank A. Long— K.I.A. 

Joseph Lowsky 

Joseph Lubin 

Diomid Lubonka 

Richard Z. Luke 

Oscar W. Lunbin 

Gavin D. Mackie 

John J. Malia 

Giuseppi Marioni — W. 

Robert A, Mechling 

Edwin B. Meese 

William E. Mesler 

Paul A. Meyer 

Alvin C. Michener 

Fred L. Miller 

John Miller 

Christ A. Moe 

John J. Moerman — K.I.A. 

John Mooney 

Albert S. Moore 

Maxwell Moore 

Raymond R. Moser — W. 

Roger L. Mumblehead 

Oakley McCarty 

Earl M. McCaskey 

Wilson McFadden 

Leo J. Nagle— W. 

Henry Newell 

Fred W. O'Neil 

William J. Oppold 

Wesley R. Palmer 

Harold O. Paslay 

Andrew R. Paul— K.I.A. 

Elmo Peterson 

Ernest S. Peterson 

George A. Peterson 

Dario Pollino 

Wallace Pool— K.I.A. 

Lewis Portugal 

George Powell 

Glen J. Powell 

Erich O. Prill 



198 



OUR SECOND BATTALION 



PRIVATES— (Continued) 



Homer E. Queen 

Sebastian H. Rager 

Giuseppi Ramello — W. 

James G. Redding— K.I.A. 

Lewis J. Reimers 

Karl E. Renud 

Roswell R. Reott 

John Reraback — W. 

Earl Ressler 

John O. Rhude 

Paul Riggs 

Michael A. Rindal 

Leland A. Rocheleau 

James E. Robinson 

Harry Roof 

Charles Rohrbeck 

Harry Rosenberger 

Tony Ross 

Giovanni Rossino 

Sylfest Rudser 

William Rush— W. 

Olaf Salmonson 

Joseph Sandora — K.LA. 

Sam Saplio— D.S.C.;W. 

James N. Saunders — K.LA. 

James V. Scalise 

George Scarborough 

Oscar Schaible 

Frederick Scheetz 

Noah T. Schillen 

Otto F. G. Schoenian 

Edward Scholl 

Louis J. Schuberth — W. 

Benjamin Schultz 

Christ Schultz 

Thomas A. Scott— W. 

Bernard C. Seeman 

William C. Selsor, Jr. 

Ivan Senia — W. 

Joseph R. Shaffer— W. 

William C. Shuff 

Mike Sidorowizk 

John Signrolla— K.LA. 

Richard Simpson — K.LA, 



Carl E. Simmons 

John Skalsky— K.LA. 

William H. Slider 

Andrew E. Smith 

Glen L Smith 

Walter Smith 

Oscar J. Solberg 

Philip Sooslaff 

Albert J. Spear 

John Sroka 

Lawrence M. Steffen 

Rubin Stein— W. 

Charles J. Stibr 

Robert R. Strickney 

Herman C. Stutzke 

Henry G. Summerfield— K.LA. 

Roy T. Swartzlander 

James F. Taylor 

Gaylord S. Thompson 

Frank H. Titzel— K.LA. 

Hyman Tonkowitz — K.LA. 

Vito Totone 

Jacob Trauger — W. 

John Tunis 

Henry Ullman 

Elwood Walters 

Theodore E. Walters— W. 

Peter Waskiewicz 

Jeff D. Watts 

James O. Weakley 

Robert G. Weckerly— W. 

Paul S. Weidner 

Elmer E. Weikel 

Robert Wenc— W. 

James West — W. 

John Williams — W. 

William D. Winebrenner 

George R. Wood— K.I.A. 

James R. Wood — W. 

Walter Woskowiak — W. 

George V. Yates— W. 

Alex Yonkon — W. 

Stanley Zavska 

John R. Zumdzinski — K.LA. 



APPENDIX 



199 



COMPANY "H" 

OFFICERS 
Captain Robert S. Cain— D.S.C. ; W. 
Captain Phelps L. Gill 
First Lieutenant JamEs C. Bates 
First Lieutenant Richard C. Dawe 
First Lieutenant Harry A. Kurtz— W. 

(two times) 
First Lieutenant Joseph C. MendEnhall 
First Lieutenant Edward A. Morris 
Second Lieutenant Athol G. Vadakin— W. 

(two times) 
Second Lieutenant Cyril F. SchEnck 

FIRST SERGEANTS 
John F. V. Pole-W. 
Raymond C. Reisker— D.S.C. ; W. 

(three times) 
George W. Jolliffe 

SERGEANTS 
Edward R. Agnew-Died Robert J. Lean-JC.IA. 

John F. Austen~W. James H. Lmdsay-W. 

Wilbert A. Bartels-W. Robert C Long 

Clarence A. Baxter-V/. John I. McDonald-W. 

C. C. Davenport ^""I^Ja .,°/"r~" 

John A. Davis ^ D.S.C. ;W^; Com. 

William A. Doubt-A.C.S. George C. O Brien-W. 

Myron J. Fredericks-W. George J^ R^ndle 

nlrold S. Gilham ^'''\%^^X''^ ' 

Frederick H. E. Harkins David C. Roll 

Joseph M. Head foyd E. R^ss-KJ.A^ 

Romer C. Johnston-W. James RRutledge-W. 

Robert C. Jones-W. Roy Seigh-W. 

Will E. Kelly R^^Ph ^- Zmkam— K.I.A. 

CORPORALS 
r^rl Berff Harry M. Clifford— K.I j\. 

Qaude H. Browne Ralph P Cluley-W. 

Paul M. Clayton Fulton Connor-W. 



200 



OUR SECOND BATTALION 



CORPORALS— (Continued) 
Roy J. Crogg Joseph Littlefair 

William T. Cunningham-K.I.A.Urvan E. Lloyd— W. 



Walter Doubt— W. 
Arthur J. Erdman 
Alvin Ferguson — W, 
John P. Flynn— KJ.A. 
Joseph R. Formby — W. 
Verner A. Franklin 
Earl Ganoe 
George F. Gass 
Rudolph Hawlik— W. 
Truman Humphreys 
Joseph T. Kaeslin— W. 

(two times) 
William M. Kaufman 
Henry A. Kelly 
Frederick W. Kelby— W. 
Robert H. Konopinski 
William Larsen 
Carl E. Lind 



John P. M'cNamara 
William J. Margerum 
Frank J. Mb ran 
William P. McCracken— W. 
Rudolp Nono 
Alexander Peterson 
Sharpless Rodgers — W. 
Thomas J. Ryan 
Pete Schultz— KJ.A. 
William Sheldon 
Reidar Sherven 
George Skestos 
George Snow, Jr. 
William T. Swope 
Joseph W. Ward— W. 
Anthony A. Widemann 
Michael F. Williamson — W. 
Charles G. Wilson 



COOKS 
Alfred Anderson— W. William P. O'Dea— W. 

William A. Elliott— W. Thomas J. Ward— W. 

James G. Lavery 

MECHANICS 
John A. Baserman — W. John McL Robinson 

Francis J. Cunningham — W. John L, Roy 
Harold G. Massey Charles Swanson 

Alrige J. Messina 



George J. Crumback 



James H. Achuff— W. 

(two times) 
Harry Ackroyd — W. 
Joseph Altamos 
Walter Anderson 
Harry E. Andrews — W. 
Edward Arnold 
Roy N. Barbour 



BUGLERS 

Morton Keesey 

PRIVATES 

William H. Barber 

Frank T. Barnes— K.I.A. 

Rudolph Bartlett— K.I.A. 

George A. Basel 

Harry A. Battles— K.I.A. 

Ernest Beach— W. 

William T. Bellanger— K.I.A. 

Michael Bennie 



APPENDIX 



201 



PRIVATES— (Continued) 



Andrew Bennett 
Westley A. Bennett 
Charles Bercher 
Charles J. Berger 
Peter Berry 
John Bertron — W. 
David J. Bergman 
Ole Bergstade 
William H. Bilbrough— W. 
Nicola Biosi — W. 
Jesse A. Blakely — W. 
Leo A. Boalo— W. 
William Bobier 
Albert F. Bogda 
Charles Bongiomo — K.I.A. 
Giovanni Borgi — W, 
Garret Box 
Hugh P. Boyle 
Joseph Boyle — W. 
Carl L, Bradley 
Roy L. Bradley 
Joseph A. Brand 
George H. Bricker — W. 
Walter A. Brodie— W. 
Harry J. Brown 
Stanley Bruce — K.I. A. 
Harry Brush—K.I.A. 
Donato Buccini — W. 
Clarence Buckalew — K.I.A. 
Herman H. J. Buerman 
John L. Burnley 
Mike Burke 
John J. Burns 
Mike V. Bums— K.I.A. 
Louis G. Callahan 
James C. Campbell 
William F. Caputo— W. 
Michael Cardone 
Andrew A. Carlson 
Johnston D. Carr— K.I.A. 
William H. Carroll 
George H. Case— K.I.A. - 
Robert W. Chambers 
Wayne Chandler 
Charles E. Chew— W. 



Frank Cinereski — W. 

Charles Chipman 

Claude E. Clark 

James B. Clark 

John C. Clarke 

Herman A. Cloud 

Frank S. Collins 

Patrick F. Collins 

Roscoe Corkran 

Petro Corini 

David Cornish — W. 

William E. Cosner — W. 

Howard Council 

John Cousin 

Herbert Cox 

Charles C. Craig 

Alexander CristoflF — W. 

Roger J. Crosby 

Samuel H. Croushore — W. 

Claud E. Curtis 

Paul F. Dawson — W. 

Ellsworth K. Davies— K.I.A. 

Louis Delansky 

John J. Dempsey — W. 

Rosaire Desharnais — W. 

Bennie Dieterick — K.I.A. 

Martin Dietz — W. 

Claud M. Dilley 

Charles B. Dobbins 

Sam P. Dofflow 

George E. Douard— K.I.A. 

Walter W. Dowler— W. 

Arthur Drayer — W. 

Royal B. Dunmyer — W. 

Franklin A. Dutill 

James C. Earl 

Walter Edwards 

Eddie M. Egstad— W. 

John Ely 

William J. Epstein 

John H. Fanning — W. 

Estes B. Fawbush — W. 

Ernest B. Fenton— K.I.A. 

Lawrence W. Fentzel — W. 

Arthur C. Fernald 



202 



OUR SECOND BATTALION 



PRIVATES- 
Benjamin R. Fields 
Archie A. Fink — W. 
Lewis Finley — W. 
Charles Fiorella 
Cyrus M. Fisher 
Thomas J. Flannery— K.I.A. 
Frank B. Flick— K.I.A. 
James Fox — W. 
Logan J. Frederick — W. 
George A. Funk 
Clarence T. Geibel 
Paul L. Geissenhainer — K.LA. 
Thomas L. Gessler— W. 
Samuel Gofstein 
Ernest V. Gohl— W. 
Everett C. Goldsmith 
John H. Grannell 
Joseph Grant 
Stewart H. Green 
Charles W. Greene 
Albert J. Groff 
Joseph G. Gross — K.LA. 
Edward Gunia — W. 
George H. Gumz 
John D. Gwynn 
Howard F. Haag — W. 

(two times) 
Frank J. Haas 
Ezra W. Hallock 
Earl N. Hanche 
Albert N. Hanson 
James E. Harden 
Edward F. Harkins — W. 
Edwin C. Harney 
Robert P. Harrington 
John L. Havey 
Albert Heimann — W. 
Francis Heidman — K.LA, 
Franklin Herman 
Philip Hermann — K.LA. 
Harry Heyman — K.LA. 
A. V. Hickman— W. 
Alfred Higgins— K.LA. 
Ernest A. Holmes 
Jacob B. Holmes 



—(Continued) 

William T. Holmes 

Leon A. Howe 

Ellwood G. Humphries 

Joseph E. Huson 

Andrew Irvine — W. 

Mathias H. Iverson — W. 

Efem Jemoluk — W. 

Archie L. Jenkins 

Clifford Johnson 

David H. Johnson 

Howard J. Johnston 

Foster J. Jones 

Michael Kasnlenes 

Ernest H. Kaufmann — K.LA, 

Joseph Kaufman 

William M. Kaufman 

James P. Keating 

Edward Kesly 

Oliver S. Kirby 

Edward R. Kirkman 

Harold J. Kittleson 

Petro Kontos 

Arthur F. Krueger— K.I.A. 

Herman F. Kummer — W. 

Stephen Kurash — W. 

Einar N. Larson — W. 

Hiram Lane — K.I.A. 

David T. Larkin— K.I.A. 

Paul M. LaRue 

James G. Lavery — W. 

Charles Laxton 

Nels T. Lein 

Alphonso Leonard 

Joseph A. Lohrman 

John R. Long 

James S. Loughran 

Alonzo Loveland — W. 

Walter Madenford— K.LA. 

John Mahusky 

Joseph Majcherski — W. 

George A. Major 

Sam D. Margolis 

Virgil M. Marks 

Carl Marquardt, Jr. 

Lorenzo Marsilia — W. 



APPENDIX 



203 



PRIVATES 
Oswalk Marte 
Charles W. Mason — W. 
William H. Mason— K.I.A. 
Albert Mattson 
Nathaniel D. May- 
Tony Menducci — K.I.A. 
Pete Mike— K.I.A. 
Paul L. Milberger 
William Miller 
George A. Mitchell— W. 
Otto Moen 
Enos V. Moore 
Fritchof T. Morken 
Vasily Mozako — K.I.A. 
Alfons Mullen 
Charlie H. Munn 
Clair L. McAllister 
William McCaffery 
Josejjh McCann — W. 
Gerald B. McCoy 
Thomas A. AlcDonald — W. 
Edward McLaughlin, Jr. 
Charles P. McMahon 
Jay D. McMahon 
Felix A. Najeski — W. 
Sam Nase 
Harry R. Newlin 
George M. Newman 
Azel W. Norlund 
Walter N. Novak 
Lewis N. Nusbaum 
Frank M. O'Connell 
Frank F. O'Donnell 
Philip P. Oglesby— W. 
Edwin J. Olson 
Salvatore Opipari — W. 
Theodore Paisley — W. 
Arthur P. Palmer — W. 
James Pamella — W. 
Carmel Panasiti 
Joseph Patton 
Thomas Pauson 
Robert W. Penwell— K.I.A. 
William L. Penwell 
John J. Peterson 



— (Continued) 
Domineco Petrarola — K.I.A. 
Joseph Peyton 
John J. Plesser 
Americus Podesta 
George Povolic 
Patrick J. Powers— K.I.A. 
William S. Powers 
Edward Puchajda 
Julius M. Raymond 
William Renecavago 
Louis G. Renn 
Harvey R. Renner 
Harold B. Reyer 
William Richards— K.I.A. 
Walter Richmond 
Frank Ritter— W. 
Frank M. Ritzel 
Thomas J. Robinson 
Paul P. Romanski 
Remo Romanski 
Henry Rosentritt 
Clarence L. Rothgeb 
Eugene D. Rowse 
Robert E. Rucker 
James W. Ryan 
Thomas J. Ryan 
William R. Salts— W. 
Joseph Salvino 
Thomas J. Sampolis 
Cohillo Sbara 
Gatano Scempeir 
George T. J. Schaab 
Carl F. Schneider 
George A. Schriefer 
George R. Schulz 
Pietro Scisiani 
Nicholas Scott 
James J. Scully — K.I.A. 
August W. Seitz 
Harry Selig 
George I. Shawyer 
Fred S. Siebenschuh 
Harry Simons 
James T. Sinsott 
Frank P. Slocum — W. 



204 



OUR SECOND BATTALION 



PRIVATES- 



Foster E. Smith 
Milton F. Smith 
Walter Smith 
Erick M. Sorenson 
Luther Sorum 
Charles Soules— W. 
Vittorio Spaziano — W. 
Lunce L. Stallons — W. 
James E. Starrett 
Edward R. St. Clair 
Paul St. John— W. 
John H. Stewart 
John G. Stowe 
Bert L. Stuart 
Mike Sushok — W. 
Walter Sutcliffe— W. 
Endsley Sutherland 
John P. Sweeney- 
John Szandrocha 
Elmer A. Tank 
Frank B. Teifer— W. 
Robert S. Thebom— W. 
Richard Thomas 
Charles T. Thompson 



—(Continued) 
John Thorpe 
Arnold J. G. Traxel 
James P. Treacy — W. 
Walter G. Truax— W. 
George Tylavsky — W. 
Thomas C. Underwood 
William W. Updike 
Joseph Urbon 
Martin Van Walie 
Priestly H. Waggoner — W. 
Charles Walber 
Thomas J. Ward— W. 
David J. Watkins— W. 
Albert A. Watson— K.LA. 
Samuel West 
Duvall I. Weston 
Henry J. White 
William Whitehurst— W. 
Adolph V. Wickman— W. 
Charles L. Williams 
John W. Williams— W. 
John J. Wodzinsky 
John Wolf 
Edward A. Zazorowski 



APPENDIX 



205 



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206 OUR SECOND BATTALION 



CITATIONS FOR DISTINGUISHED 
SERVICE CROSS 

1st Lieutenant Charles C. Conaty 
Battalion Chaplain 
For extraordinary heroism in action near 
Crezancy, France, July 16, 1918. Without 
regard for his personal safety, Chaplain Con- 
aty, under intense shell fire, followed the 
attack lof his troops from Crezancy to the 
Marne River, attended the wounded and 
throughout the night searched and assisted in 
carrying wounded to the dressing station. 



Corporal Raymond G. Rowbottom 
Company E 
For extraordinary heroism in action near 
Fismette, France, August 12, 1918. With an 
automatic rifle team, he occupied a house in 
advanced position West of Fismette, on the 
night of August 12, the loss of which would 
have jeopardized his company's position and 
hindered the military operations then taking 
place. The enemy shot a flare into the house, 
setting fire to it, but Corporal Rowbottom and 
a companion, under machine gun and sniper 
fire in a brilliantly lighted room, extinguished 
the flames. 



APPENDIX 207 



First Sergeant Benjamin C. Praeger 

Company E 
For extraordinary heroism in action near 
Fismes, France, Auj^^ust 11, 1918. On his own 
initiative and under heavy fire, he led an auto- 
matic rifle squad to a house far in advance of 
our lines, and by purposely exposino^ himself 
at a window, drew fire from an enemy machine 
gun, thus disclosing its position and enabling 
his squad to destroy it. After being w^ounded, 
he refused to be evacuated until he had visited 
another portion of the line and assured him- 
self that the position was well consolidated. 



Corporal Raymond F. Peacjock 
Company F 
For extraordinary heroism in action near 
Fismette, France, August 10, 1918. Being the 
only member of his detachment who knew how 
to operate an enemy machine gun, he volun- 
teered to go forward in the attack near Fis- 
mette, in spite of just having been so badly 
wounded in his left shoulder that his left arm 
was partially useless. He participated in the 
assault, and with one arm operated a captured 
German machine gun against the enemy until 
he was again wounded. 



208 OUR SECOND BATTAUON 



Sergeant Frank E. Andrea 
(Deceased) 
Company G 
For extraordinary heroism in action near 
Crezancy, France, July 16, 1918. Sergeant 
Andrea was told by a runner that an enemy 
patrol had captured two ambulances contain- 
ing American wounded on the road east of 
his position. He organized a relief party, per- 
sonally commanded it, drove the enemy to 
rout, recovered the ambulance and the wounded 
men, and brought them back to our lines. 



Corporal James D. Moore 
Company G 
For extraordinary heroism in action near 
Fismette, August 12, 1918. With an auto- 
matic rifle team, he occupied a house in an 
advanced position West of Fismette on the 
night of August 12, the loss of which would 
have jeopardized his company's position and 
hindered the military operations then taking 
place. The enemy shot a flare into the house, 
setting it on fire, but Corporal Moore and a 
companion, under machine gun and sniper fire 
in a brilliantly lighted room, extinguished the 
flames. 



APPENDIX 209 



Private, Sam Saplio 
Company G 
For extraordinaiy heroism in action near 
Fismette, France, August 10-12, 1918. With- 
out fear or thought for his personal safety, he 
sought out enemy snipers posted in trees and 
killed a number of them. Later, with Sergeant 
John W. Thompson, he attacked an enemy 
machine gun nest, killed the crew, and turned 
the gun on the enemy, operating it with deadly 
effect on the infantry and machine gun posi- 
tions, killing the gun crews and capturing ten 
machine guns. 



First Sergeant John W. Thompson 
Company G 
For extraordinary heroism in action near 
Le Grande Savart, West of Fismette, France, 
August 10, 1918. He showed remarkable bra- 
very and disregard of personal danger when, 
with two other soldiers, he attacked a German 
machine gun, killed the crew, and then with 
deadly effect turned the gun upon other mach- 
ine guns and hostile infantry which were in 
position near by. The crews of all the other 
German machine guns were killed, ten machine 
guns were captured, and the way cleared for 
the further advance of the American forces. 



210 OUR SECOND BATTALION 



Captain Robert S. Cain 
Company H 
For extraordinary heroism in the Bois de 
Chateau Diabl, West of Fismette, August 
11-12, 1918. Armed with a Chauchat rifle, he 
personally led the advance elements of the 
line, driving the enemy before him, and clear- 
ing the above forest South of the railroad and 
North of the Vesle River, along the Rheims- 
Rouen Road. By personally exposing himself 
on the railroad, he maintained liaison at great 
personal risk. In all of this, he displayed 
sterling qualities of leadership and fearless- 
ness beyond that required to perform the duties 
of his office. 

Corporal John P. Morris 
Company E 
For extraordinary heroism in action at Le 
Grand Bois Chateau de Diabl, France, August 
10, 1918. After his organization had been 
compelled to retire in the face of a strong 
enemy attack, he made a reconnaissance of the 
bed of the Vesle River, and, wading through 
water shoulder deep, under heavy machine gun 
fire, made five trips, carrying wounded from 
the North bank to a dressing station South of 
the river. 

CROIX DE GUERRE 

First Sergeant Thompson, of Company G, 
was one of a few members of *^Our Second 



APPENDIX 211 

Battalion-' to be awarded the Croix de Guerre, 
his citation l>eing as follows : "Showed remark- 
able bravery and disregard for danger in at- 
tacking an enemy machine gun, killing the 
gunners and turning the machine gun against 
the enemy infantry; thus prepared a passage 
for the American troops." 



The following awards were made to Captain 
Schlosser : 

G. H. Q. 
AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES 

Arthur L. Schlosser 

(Deceased) 
Captain, 111th Infantry 

The award of the Chevalier de L'ordre de 
Leopold by the Belgian Government to you 
having been approved by the Commander-in- 
Chief, you are authorized to accept and wear 
such decoration. 

The award was made for the following serv- 
ices rendered: In recognition of meritorious 
services rendered the Allied cause. 

By Command of General Pershing: 
James G. Harbord, 
Chief of Staff. 

OFFICIAL : 

Robert G. Davis, 

Adjutant General. 



212 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

G. H. Q. G. O. 5 

AMERICA]^ EXPEDITIONARY FORCES 

Citation Orders 

No. 5 France, June 3, 1919 

The following officer of American Expedi- 
tionary Forces is cited for gallantry ia action 
and is entitled to wear a silver star on the 
victory medal ribbon as prescribed by para- 
graph I, G. O. 75, c. s., these headquarters: 

Captain Arthur L. Schlosser (deceased), 
111th Infantry, for gallantry in action in the 
Bois de Chateau Diabl, France, 10-12 August, 
1918, and for his brilliant leadership. 

John J. Pershing, 
Commander-in-Chief. 



The following awards were made to First 
Sergeant Reisker: 

G. H. Q. 
AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES 

Sergeant Raymond C. Reisker 
Company H, 111th Infantry ^ 28th Division 

The award of the Belgian Chevalier de 
L'ordre de Lfeopold II, by the Belgian Govern- 
ment to you having been approved by the Com- 
mander-in-'Chief, you are authorized to accept 
and wear such decoration. 

This award was made for the following serv- 
ices rendered : In recognition of faithful and 



APPENDIX 213 

meritorious services rendered the Allied Cause 
and citations of the American Commanding 
Generals. 

By Command of General Pershing : 

James G. Harbord, 

Chief of Staff. 

OFFICIAL : 

Kobert G. Davis, 

Adjutant General. 



UNITED STATES ARMY 
CITATION 

Sergeant Raymond C. Reisker 
Company H^ 111th Infamtry 
For distinguished and exceptional gallantry 
at Fismes, France, on August 11th, 1918, in 
the operations of the American Expeditionary 
Forces. In testimony thereof and as an ex- 
pression of appreciation of his valor, I award 
Mm. this Citation and American D. S. C. 

Approved and awarded on the 27th day of 
March, 1919. 

John J. Pershing, 
Commander-in-Chief. 



214 OUR SECOND BATTALION 



ITALIAN WAR CROSS OF MERIT 
Captain Gain was the only man to receive 
the Italian War Cross of Merit in "Our Second 
Battalion/' his citation reading as follows : 

"The King of Italy has wished that this de- 
coration, which in Italy is given to reward 
those who most distinguished themselves in ac- 
tion, should be awarded to you in recognition 
of the gallantry you have shown and of the 
merit you have thereby acquired for the com- 
mon cause, even though you have not fought 
on Italian soil.'' 



APPENDIX 



215 



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APPENDIX 217 



REPORT OF TOUR OF DUTY, 

2ND BATTALION, lllTH INFANTRY, 

WITH 3RD U. S. DIVISION. 



This battalion was ordered to vacate its 
position at La Grand Tronchet Farm and Le 
Petit Queue Farm per Field Order No. 7, 
Headquarters 56tli Infantry Brigade, 28th 
Division, A. E. F., 15 July, '18. 

Per V. O. C. O. the Battalion Commander 
proceeded to Headquarters, 3rd Division, 
A. E. F., where orders were received for the 
battalion to proceed to Bois d/ Aigremont, re- 
porting upon arrival thereat to the Command- 
ing Officer, 30th Infantry. The battalion pro- 
ceeded by motor truck to a point east of Cour- 
hoin, arriving there at 12 midnight and 
marched from there to Bois d^ Aigremont, 
arriving thereat about 3 A. M. The troops 
were concealed in the woods, and the Com- 
pany Commanders reported to the Command- 
ing Officer, 30th Infantry, for orders. Posi- 
tions were taken up in trenches previously 
constructed by the 30th Infantry. We were 
subjected to intense shell fire, in which gas, 
shrapnel and high explosives were used. The 
morale of the troops was exceptionally good. 
The woods were strewn with dead men and 
animals from the previous day's fighting. 



218 OUR >SECOND BATTALION 

which, as soon as daylight permitted, we pro- 
ceeded to bury. 

Information was received that the enemy 
proposed an attack at 4 P. M. This battalion 
was directed to counter-attack from its posi- 
tion at the northern edge of Bois d^ Aigremont 
and clear the entire sector to the Ma/rne River 
between a line running north and south 
through Crezanzy on the right and a line run- 
ning north and south just east of Fossoy. 

The enemy subjected our attacking lines to 
an intense barrage. Our first wave, consist- 
ing of Company G and two platoons of Com- 
pany E, nnder command of Captain Arthur L. 
Schlosser, went over the top at 2 P. M-, and ad- 
vanced by crawling in thin lines through the 
wheat field, the first objective being the Metz- 
Paris Road, which point was to be reached at 
4 P. M. One platoon of Company G, under 
command of Sergeant Frank E. Andrea, pro- 
ceeded along a ravine running in a northeast- 
erly direction toward Crezanzy, its mission 
being to clear Crezanzy of the enemy and to 
hold the town. Their mission was accom- 
plished and a position taken up along the rail- 
road east of Crezanzy. Our artillery, at 4 P. 
M., laid down an intense creeping barrage, un- 
der cover of which the first wave advanced 
over the Paris-Metz Road north, clearing the 
woods to the railroad, where positions were 
taken up. One platoon advanced to point 
forward where the entire Mame River could 



APPENDIX 219 

be observed, remaining there until dark, when 
combat patrols moved forward, covering Mezy 
and the entire south bank of the Mame to the 
dam crossing the Marne River. The support- 
ing troops, consisting of two platoons of Com- 
pany E, Company F and H, were held in sup- 
port under cover in the woods 500 yards 
south of the railroad and entrenched there for 
better cover. 'No material enemy infantry re- 
sistance was encountered. 

Liaison was established with the 7th In- 
fantry on our left and by patrols from Cre- 
zancy with the 38th Infantry on our right 
rear. Strong combat patrols were maintained 
between Crezancy and Mezy, protecting our 
right flank. Numerous small patrols of the 
enemy were encountered and driven off. 

Numerous wounded of the 7th, 30th and 
38th Infantries were recovered and evacuated 
to the rear. Dead Americans and enemy were 
buried and this position held until ordered re- 
lieved by the 7th and 38th Infantries extend- 
ing their right and left flanks respectively on 
the night of the 20th, when this battalion with- 
drew to the Grand Bordeaux Farm. 
W. R. Dunlap, 

Captain 111th Infantry, 
Comdg. 2nd Battalion. 



220 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

Hdqrs., 111th Infantry, 
American Expeditionary Forces, France, 
3rd August, 1918. 
Fnom: Commanding Officer, 111th In- 

fantry. 
To: Commanding General, 56th Bri- 

gade, 28th Division, A. E. F. 
Subject : Report of Operations. 

1. Pursuant to Field Orders No. 7, dated 
Hdqrs., 56th Infanty Brigade, 15 July, 1918, 
the 2nd Battalion of this regiment, com- 
manded by Captain William R. Dunlap, occu- 
pying a position in the line of resistance at 
La Grande Tronchet Fme and Le Petit Queue 
Fme, was directed to proceed to Hdqrs., 3rd 
Division, U. S. A., where orders were received 
for that unit to proceed to Bois d/ Aigremont, 
reporting upon arrival thereat to Command- 
ing Officer, 30th Infantry. The operations of 
this Battalion are reported in detail by the 
Commanding Officer of that Battalion, copy of 
which is attached hereto. 

2. On July 16th, 1918, the 1st Battalion 
of this regiment, under command of Major 
Carrol R. Kelly, was sent to the support of the 
2nd Battalion. On July 18th, 1918, Regimen- 
tal Headquarters, Headquarters Company, 
and Machine Gun Company, which were on 
the line of resistance at Le Mesnil Fme., pro- 
ceeded by marching to Pertehue Fme., arriving 
at that point at 6 P. M., and the Regimental 
Commander reported to Commanding General, 



APPENDIX 221 

3rcl Division, for orders. He was directed to 
march his force to Grieves Fme., where guides 
met him and he was conducted to the P. C, 
30 th Infantry. Upon arrival there he took 
over command of the entire sector occupied by 
the 30th Infantry, relieving Colonel Butts, 
who was then commanding. 

The 2nd Battalion occupied the forward 
lines with the 1st Battalion in support. Dur- 
ing the day of the 19th of July, the entire 
force, except those in the front line, was put 
to work in cleaning up the position, burying 
the dead soldiers and a large number of ani- 
mals. The position was in bad condition due 
to the decomposing of dead bodies. 

At 5 P. M., July 20th, 1918, an order was 
received that the regiment would be relieved 
during the night by the 38th Infantry on our 
right and the 7th Infantry on our left, by 
those units extend tug their right and left 
flanks. The relief was accomplished success- 
fully during the night and the regiment 
formed up and marched to the Grande Bor- 
deaux Fme.y arriving there at 4 A. M., July 
21st, 1918. At 3:30 P. M., same date, an aide 
to General Muir, Division Commander, di- 
rected that the regiment move from that poiut, 
crossing the Marne River at Chateau Thierry 
and to bivouac near Brasles, north of Chutemi 
Thierry, at which point the 3rd Battalion, 
w^hich had been detached, rejoined the regi- 
ment, July 22nd, 1918. 



222 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

3. Late in the afternoon of July 22nd, 1918, 
the regiment moved into the Bois de Barhilon 
and bivouacked. At 1:30 A. M., July 23rd, 
1918, Field Orders No. 9, dated Hdqrs., 56th 
Infantry Brigade, 23 July, 1918, were received 
which directed the regiment to move by the 
road in the Bois de Barhilon to Verdilly^ 
thence by route of 112th Infantry, which was 
indicated in the order to the Grande Rue Fme. 
While enroute, verbal orders were received di- 
rcting that the Commanding Officer of this 
regiment report to the Commanding General, 
26th Division, upon arrival of his troops at 
the Grand Rue Fme. Headquarters Company, 
Machine Gun Company, 2nd and 3rd Battal- 
ions were bivouacked in woods east of Grande 
Rue Fme. and the 1st Battalion in woods North 
of Grande Rue Fme. At 9 A. M., the Command- 
ing Officer reported to the Commanding Gen- 
eral, 26th Division, and was directed to hold 
his force in readiness to support the troops of 
the 26th Division on the line. In the afternoon 
of that day he was directed to reconnoiter the 
position held by the 101st and 102nd Infan- 
tries with a view of relieving them with two 
battalions of this regiment. The relief of the 
position above mentioned was begun at dark 
with the 2nd and 3rd Battalions, under com- 
mand, of the Regimental Commander, Lt. Col. 
Bertram L. Succop remaining in command of 
the 1st Battalion, Headquarters Company, and 
Machine Gun Company. 



APPENDIX 223 

While the relief was in process, orders were 
received at 3 :3Q A. M., to be prepared to make 
an attack the following morning at 6 :15 A. M., 
24 July, 1918. The 3rd Battalion occupied 
the right of the sector with two companies in 
the front line and the 2nd Battalion occupied 
the left of the sector with two companies in the 
front line, each battalion having two com- 
panies in support. 

The attack started on time and proceeded 
without opposition for a distance of about 800 
yards when a French cavalry patrol, moving 
along our left flank, reported to the Command- 
ing Officer that the enemy had evacuated 
Epieds. The advance was immediately stopped 
and this information sent by a runner to the 
Commanding General, 56th Infantiy Brigade, 
who had established his P. C. at Bezuety with a 
request, that the artillery barrage which was to 
be put down be immediately stopped. In a 
short time a message from the Commanding 
General, 56th Infantry Brigade, was received 
which directed that the advance be continued 
until strong resistance by the enemy was met, 
with La Croix Rouge Fme. as the objective. 

Upon receipt of this order the advance w^as 
Parted with two companies of each "battalion 
leading with their elements in line of platoon 
columns, followed in close support by the 
other two companies in the same formation, 
with instructions to march by compass, bear- 
ing North 15 degrees East. The advance con- 



224 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

tinued and when the leading element of the 
right sector was opposite Epieds it moved to 
the right flank and contact was lost with it 
for the time being. The balance of the column 
continued to advance until opposite Beau- 
vardes when considerable machine gun fire 
developed from that town. The advance was 
halted and a patrol from Company K was sent 
to reconnoiter and it was reported that the 
French were conducting an operation against 
that town. It was decided to continue the 
advance, leaving that town on our left, through 
the Foret de Fere. Owing to the dense growth 
of the forest it became almost impossible to 
keep contact with the units and the column 
was reduced to a column of files with Com- 
panies E, H, I and K. The right sector be- 
came disengaged at this time and, as later 
developed, were held up on the southern edge 
of the forest. The units above mentioned 
(Companies E, H, I and K) continued the 
advance through the forest and about 4:00 
P. M., Company H, which was leading, was 
held up by machine gun fire. This opposition 
was overcome by automatic rifle t-eams which 
were sent out to the right flank and the ad- 
vance continued until about 700 yards from 
the La Croix Rouge Fme. where an intense 
machine gun fire was laid down by the enemy. 
One platoon at a time was fed into a hur- 
riedly established line until two companies 
were engaged when the opposing fire was re- 



APPENDIX 225 

du'ced. The columii was again formed and an 
attempt made to make a further advance but 
the fire from the enemy immediately reopened 
and it was impossible, owing to the dense 
forest and the heavy fire to make a further 
advance. The action afbove mentioned caused 
losses of five (5) killed and fifteen (15) 
wounded. 

An officers' patrol was sent to the left of the 
position with a view of obtaining information 
as to the strength of the enemy and in about 
one-half hour information was received from 
this patrol that the enemy was in force in the 
vicinity of La Croix Ronge Fme. 

Al)out 500 yards in the rear of the position 
where this action took place was a clearing in 
the forest of about 400 yards square and a 
sunken road ran along the southern edge of 
the clearing. It was decided that as the hour 
was growing late it was best to establish a po- 
sition and hold the ground gained. With this 
in view, Company K was placed in the front 
line, the other three companies of the detach- 
ment echeloned in depth in the forest to the 
rear. The organization of the position was 
completed and all units in position before 
dark. The establishment of this position was 
accomplished under considerable machine gun 
fire and later intense artillery fire which was 
kept up during the entire night. Patrols were 
sent out from the position to obtain informa- 
tion as to the troops on the right and left 



226 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

flaniks. In the early evening contact was 
gained with the French on our left and 
towards morning contact was also gained on 
our right with a small French detachment 
which had worked up through the forest on 
our right. 

During the advance a staff officer of the 
26th Division accompanied the Commanding 
Officer of this regiment and when it was de- 
cided to organize the position this officer, with 
two runners, left to give information as to our 
location and condition to the Commanding 
General, 56th Infantry Brigade. Prior to this 
time messages had been sent back from time 
to time to the old P. C. of the Commanding 
General, 56th Brigade, giving information as 
to the progress of the advance but owing to 
the fact that the P. C. had 'been changed most 
of our messages failed to reach him, this, of 
course, developed later. At the time it was 
supposed that full information was in his 
hands as to the condition of the detachment. 
At 5:00 A. M., 25 July, '18, no word having 
been received from the Brigade Commander 
as to the supporting troops, 1st Lieutenant 
Jean M. Siaux, 51th Chasseurs, French Army, 
who was attached to the regiment, (volunteered 
to convey a message to the Brigade Com- 
mander and with two runners left the position, 
found the Brigade Commander and gave him 
the first information as to the condition and 
location of the detachment. The position was 



APPENDIX 227 

a strong one and easily held by the force oc- 
cupying it. 

Later on that day, a message was received 
from the Brigade Commander advising that 
the detachment would be relieved by the 167th 
Infantry. At 8 :40 P. M., same date, the relief 
was made and the detachment was marched 
South through the woods to Coiirpoil, where 
the detachment was reported to the Brigade 
Commander and thence to the Trugny Moods 
where the rest of the regiment had been as- 
semjbled and bivouacked. 

E. C. Shannon, 
Colonel, 111th Infantry. 



Hq., 2nd Bn., 111th Infantry, 
American Expeditionary Forces, 
France, 
24th August, 1918. 
From: Commanding Officer, 2nd Battal- 
ion, 111th Infantry. 
To: Commanding Officer, 111th In- 

fantry. 
Subject : Attack on August 10th, 1918. 

1. I was directed by the Commanding Offi- 
cer to make reconnaissance of the position oc- 
cupied by my Battalion north of the Yesle 
River on the line 286.5 to 202.9, with a view of 
determining the best means of dislodging the 
enemy from that vicinity, it having been pr?- 



22S OUR SECOND BATTALION 

vi'ously determined that the enemy was en- 
trenched along the northern bank of the rail- 
road from the point 286.6-202.8 in a northeast- 
erly direction ; also, the numerous snipers and 
machine gun nests throughout the woods north 
of the railroad and between the railroad and 
the Vesle River east of my position. 

2. Shortly after my arrival at the front line 
position about 11 o'clock, what was intended 
to be a raid to capture prisoners by a platoon 
of Company G (Captain Arthur L. Schlosser) , 
by filtering one man at a time across the rail- 
road on the enemy- s right flank until the entire 
platoon was across, so visibly caught the en- 
emy by surprise that it was deemed advisable 
to develop the raid into an attack to clear the 
woods north of the railroad and the railroad 
bank, of the enemy. Additional troops were 
sent across at Captain Schlosser's disposal 
until all of G Company, two platoons of F 
Company and two platoons of H Company 
were in the line. 

3. The enemy was found to be dug in along 
the entire northern bank of the railroad in 
skirmisher's holes and machine gun emplace- 
ments. At the place of crossing, 286.6-202.8, a 
few yards northeast in the woods, were found 
two machine guns dominating the crossing. 
The first group of men across succeeded in 
getting in their rear, killed the crews of both 
gnns, captured the guns and a large quantity 
of ammunition, placing them in a position 



APPENDES: 229 

completely enfilading the enemy's right flank 
along the railroad bank. 

4. The attacking line was extended from 
the point of crossing due north to the north- 
western edge of the Grand Bai,^, De Chatecm 
Diabl and advanced parallel to the railroad, 
driving the enemy before them and capturing 
thirty enemy machine guns in their advance. 
The remaining four platoons (two of H Com- 
pany and two of F Company) under Captain 
John M. Clarke, deployed in continuation of 
Captain Schlosser's line extending from the 
railroad at the point of crossing to the Yesle 
River in a southeasterly direction (E Com- 
pany having been sent to a point near the Tan- 
nery, 204.3-287.7, being placed at the disposal 
of Major Kelley, of our 1st Battalion, for his 
attack in the early morning of that date). I, 
at this time, set as my objective, the Rouen- 
Reirns Road, between the points 203.2 and 
204, this point being where the Yesle River 
crosses the Rouen-Reims Road. 

5. The attack having advanced a:bout 500 
meters in the direction of the Rouen-Reims 
Roady at 12 :50 P. M., a heavy barrage of our 
owTi artillery forced a major part of our line 
back in confusion. The men were stopped in 
the vicinity of our original position and got- 
ten into cover of dugouts. As soon as the bar- 
rage could be stopped, the troops were re- 
organized and the line again started to ad- 
vance at 1 :30. The objective was reached at 



230 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

2 :30 p. M., where the troops dug in along the 
railroad bank just south of and parallel with 
the Rouen-Reims Road on a front of 800 
meters. 

6. Having no supporting troops and my 
left flank being exposed for a distance of 500 
meters, two infantry companies and a machine 
gun platoon were requested as supports. Com- 
pany K of our regiment was sent to our sup- 
port and placed in a position to protect our 
left flank. Under cover of darkness, the en- 
tire line was withdrawn from the position 
along the Rouen-Reims Roud to positions 
where better cover could be secured and a bet- 
ter field of fire, and the territory south of 
the Rouen-Reims Road still covered by our fire. 
These positions varied in distance from one to 
two hundred meters from the Rouen-Reims 
Road. 

7. On August 11th, Companies A and B of 
the 109th Infantry were sent to our support, 
extending our line further to the east and 
strengthening the left flank. One company of 
the 108th Machine Gun Battalion and one 
platoon of Company B, 109th Infantry, were 
placed in the vicinity of the Tannery, 204.3- 
287.7, covering our right flank and throwing 
fire in a northwesterly direction across our 
front. These dispositions were maintained 
until relieved by the First Battalion of the 
305th Infantry. Said relief was not completed 
until after daylight of August 13th. Our 



APPENDIX 231 

troops were not withdrawn until dark that 
evening^. 

8. The casualties for the whole engagement 
were: Killed, 2 officers and 22 enlisted men; 
wounded, 4 officers and 117 enlisted men; 12 
enlisted men missing; 11 enlisted men sent 
sick to hospital and 1 man died of wounds. 

W. R. Dunlap, 
Major, 111th Infantry. 



Headquarters, Third Corps, 

American Expeditionary Forces, 

France, Aug. 11, 1918. 

From 20.00 Aug. 10 to 20.00 Aug. 11, 1918, 

G-3 

No. 4. 

OPERATIONS REPORT. 

1. Weather: Generally fair. 

2. Visibility : Good. ' 

3. General Impression of the Day : Quiet. 

4. Infantry Activity: Late this afternoon 
the 28th Diy. pushed out comhat patrols. One 
company followed the west slopes of a ridge 
northeast of Fismette and advanced about 100 
meters. One company followed the valley east 
of the same ridge and advanced 300 meters. 
Both patrols met severe resistance from ma- 
chine guns, although the raid was preceded 
by artillery. Heavy casualties. Little activity 



232 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

along the rest of the front. During the occu- 
pat ion yesterday of the Chateau De Diahl 
WoodSy the 28th Div. captured 30 machine 
guns and practically exterminated the garri- 
son. Our front line remains unchanged. 

5. Artillery activity : Our artillery normal, 
firing interdiction and counter-battering three 
batteries. Also rolling barrage and concentra- 
tions during raid. Enemy artillery fire on 
Mont St. Martin-Fismes Road, woods of 
Chenet, Valley of Fon de Mezieres, and one 
battery position near Resson Farm. All 
enemy artillery identified in front of this 
sector are rifles — no howitzers — calibres 77's, 
105 L, 155 L, and 170 marine. 

6. Aviation: Active on both sides. Boche 
chasse very active over our line continually. 
A plane of the 88th Squadron was brought 
down this morning by ejiemy plane within our 
lines. Pilot and observer killed. 

7. 'Casualties: The following patients have 
passed through corps hospitals from July 29 
to noon, August 11, 1918 : 

3rd Division, 1,253 

28th Division, 2,419 

32nd Division, 1,439 

8. Changes in, Disposition of Troops : The 
164th Div. French relieved the 6th Brigade U. 
S. The 11th R. A. L., 1st Bn., 103rd R. A. L. 
and 1st Bn. 138th R. A. L. and 214th G. P. F. 



APPENDIX 233 

French were withdra\^Ti during the night and 
passed from this command. 

By command of Major General Bullard: 

F. W. Clark, 

Lt. Col. G. S. 
G-3. 
Note : The sentence in italics in paragraph 
4 refers to the action of '^Our Second Bat- 
talion/' as is seen by the following report on 
captured enemy machine guns. 



Hq., 2nd Bn., 111th Infantry, 
American Expeditionary Forces, France, 
10th September, 1918. 
From: Commanding Officer, 2nd Battal- 
ion, 111th Infantry. 
To: G-1, 28th Division (Thru Chan- 

nels). 
Subject: Report on captured German Ma- 
chine Guns. 
1. In the engagement of Bois de ChateoM 
Diahl^ August 8-12th, inclusive, 30 German 
machine guns were captured by this Battalion. 
Approximately 20 of these guns were used in 
this engagement agaiust the enemy and the suc- 
cess of the engagement was attributed, in part, 
to the fire of these guns. Several of the guns 
were disabled by shell fire during the engage- 
ment and others lost in the dense woods. 
Nineteen were brought out by our troops, nine 



234 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

of which, for various reasons, were unseryice- 
able, and were turned into the Salvage Dump 
at Cohan. Ten of these guns were taken into 
the engagement on September 6th, 1918 ; four 
were lost or disabled and six turned over to 
the French troops, who relieved us, with four 
others, which had been captured during the 
engagement, it being impracticable to take 
these guns out with us owing to tJie proximity 
of the enemy, who were using flares almost 
continuously and there being no cover through 
which to withdraw. 

2. Total number of guns captured by this 
Battalion to date, thirty-four (34). 
William E. Dunlap, 

Major 111th Infantry. 



Hq., 2nd Bn., 111th Infantry, 
American Expeditionary Forces, France, 
10th September, 1918. 
From : Commanding Officer, 2nd Battal- 
ion, 111th Infantry. 
To: Commanding Officer, 111th In- 

fantry. 
Subject: Repor-t of tour of duty from Sep- 
tember 5th to 8th, 1918, in 
elusive. 
1. Per V. O. C. O., pursuant to Field Or- 
ders No. 32, Headquarters, 56th Infantry Bri- 



APPENDIX 235 

irade, datofl 5 Septomlier, lOlS, this Battalion 
left its station (ravine one kilometer south- 
east of Fismes) at 3:30 P. M., as advance 
gnarfl to the regiment, mission being to get 
contact with the left flank of the French and 
the right flank of the 55th Infantry Brigade, 
TJ. S., their line.5 being, from available informa- 
tion, at points north of Courlaiidon. Contact 
with the French left (4th Regiment, 9th Divi- 
sion Infantry), was obtained by patrol at 6 
P. M., 5 September, 1918. Contact was main- 
tained and our patrols to our left guard gained 
contact with the 55th Brigade, IJ. S. '(109th 
Infantry), at 7 o'clock P. M., 5 September, 
1918. Our column advanced to a line between 
point at 209.8-288.7 to 210.2-288.3, where two 
companies w^ere deployed closing the gap be- 
tween the French and our 55th Brigade, which 
was our mission. The two remaining com- 
panies of the battalion were placed in close 
support. These positions were maintained 
throughout the night and until 1 P. M., 6 Sep- 
tember, 1918. 

2. At 12:45 P. M., 6 September, 1918, a 
memorandum received from Colonel Ham, 
109th Infantry, requesting that the battalion 
participate in a general attack to take place 
at 1 P. M., 6 September, 1918. The battalion 
went over the top at 1 :02 P. M., two companies 
(F and H) under Captain Robert S. Cain and 
one platoon. Machine Gun Company, 111th 
Infantry, under Lieut. Daniel W. Brooks in 



236 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

the first line, and Companies G and E, under 
Captain Arthur L. Schlosser, and one platoon, 
Machine Gun Company, 111th Infantry, under 
Lieut. Edwey Z. Wainwright, in the second 
line. Companies A, B, C and D being placed 
at my disposal by the Commanding Officer, 
were placed in support. The attacking line 
advanced to a line from 209.9-289.2 to 210.4- 
288.9. The enemy counter-attacked in force 
at 2 P. M., 6 September, 1918, counter-attack 
being made by the 20th Bavarian Infantry. 
Companies A and D were sent forward to re- 
inforce our lines and request was made to the 
Commanding Officer that companies of the 3rd 
Battalion be placed at my disposal in the event 
of enemy counter-attack breaking through. 
French troops withdrew about 200 yards in the 
face of the enemy counter-attack. Our troops, 
assisted by the fire from 111th Machine Gun 
Company, broke up the enemy counter-attack 
and held our position, after which the French 
line advanced to its original position and main- 
tained contact with our right. The 3rd Battal- 
ion with Company B, 109th Machine Gun Bat- 
talion, under Lieut. Strickler, arrived and was 
placed in the position occupied by our troops 
prior to the attack. These dispositions were 
maintained until relieved by the 207th French 
Infantry, relief being completed 3 A. M., 8 
September, 1918. Our troops were withdrawn 
to St, Gilles. 



APPENDIX 237 

3. Number of prisoners taken, 9; casual- 
ties: officers, killed, 4; wounded, 5; enlisted 
men, killed, 30; wounded, 240. 

William K. Dunlap, 
Major, llltli Infantry. 



Headquarters, lllth Infantry, 
American Expeditionary Forces, France, 
11th September, 1918. 
From : Commanding Officer, llltli In- 
fantry. 
To: Commanding General, 28th Divi- 

sion. 
Subject: Operations lllth Infantry, lst-8th 
September, 1918. 
1. During the night 31st August-lst Scip- 
tember, 1918, the Commanding Officer, lllth 
Infantry, took over command of the line of 
resistance of the sector occupied by the 56th 
Infantry Brigade, the 3rd Battalion of this 
regiment occupying the outpost zone, 2nd a^d 
1st Battalions, resistance line. On 4 Septem- 
ber, 1918, the general advance of the 55th 
Brigade on our right and the 77th Division on 
our left having been ordered. Company K «ir 
this regiment, which occupied the sector east 
of Fismes, 206.6-286.8 to 207.3-286.8, joined 
the advance to the left of the 110th Infantry, 
crossed the Vesle River and established a 
bridge-head at 206.6-287.0. The balance of this 



238 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

battalion being stationed in Fismes proper, 
had strong patrols advancing toward the Yesle 
River and while the general advance was in 
progress they accomplished a crossing and oc- 
cupied Fismette. These positions were held 
during the night of the 4th-5th September, 
1918, by this battalion, while the balance of 
the regiment was moved to the ravine 205.0- 
285.3. The Commanding General, 56th In- 
fantry Brigade, directed that the battalion in 
Fismes and Fismette clean up these towns, 
burying all American dead and assembling any 
German material of value. The Commanding 
Officer of this regiment made an inspection of 
both of these towns during the morning of 
5 September, 1918, and upon his return from 
this inspection about noon, found a memoran- 
dum which directed him to prepare his regi- 
ment to advance in the direction of Concre- 
vaux and secure the line La Grande Hameau- 
Bouregard Fme. and Maizy, with the further 
information that a detailed order would be 
furnished soon and also verbal orders direct- 
ing the withdrawal of the 3rd Battalion from 
Fismes and Fismette^ these towns having been 
occupied by troops of the 77th Division. 

2. Field Orders IS'o. 31, Hdqrs., 56th In- 
fantry Brigade, dated '5 September, 1918, were 
received about 2 P. M. Paragraph 3 of thl» 
order directed the advance by way of the St. 
Gilles-Fismes-Fismette-Baslieuw — 193.4 road, 
but contained no information as to the approx- 



APPENDIX 239 

imate location of the right of the Aimericaii 
line and the left of the French line. An officer 
was dispatched to ohtain, if possible, from the 
Commanding General, 55th Infantry Brigade, 
these locations, and further, to ascertain if 
there was a bridge crossing available in the 
vicinity of Villette. The information obtained 
showed that the left of the French line was at 
about 210.3-287.7, the right of the American 
line at about 209.9-288.7, and that there was 
a bridge crossing north of Villette. With this 
information and with permission of the Com- 
manding General of the 56th Infantry Bri- 
gade, who was present, verbal orders were im- 
mediately issued to the assembled Battalion 
Commanders directing the advance of the regi- 
ment north on the St. Gilles-Fismes Road, 
thence east on the National Highway 21, 
thence north across the Yesle River , thence in 
a northeasterly direction toward the La Fosse 
au Diabl. The advance guard was composed 
of the 2nd Battalion with Machine Gun Com- 
pany of the 111th Infantry, 800 yards in the 
rear of the 1st Battalion with Company B, 
109th Machine Gun Battalion. The advance 
guard commander was directed to proceed via 
the road indicated, sending out strong patrols 
to gain contact with the French left and the 
American right. On account of shell fire the 
entire advance was made in column of files. 
The advance guard moved out at 3 :30 P. M., 
and while the main body was passing through 



240 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

Fismes a message was received from the Divi- 
sion Commander that there was apprehension 
of a counter-attack from Romain by way of 
Gde. Hameau and that we were to connect up 
with the American right flank so as to repel 
any such counter-attack. Copy of this mes- 
sage was immediately dispatched to the ad- 
vance guard commander, who received it at 
5:45 P. M., and he was directed to push on 
and connect up with all possible dispatch. 
Message dated 6:40 P. M. from the advance 
guard commander gave the information that 
they were in contact with the French left and 
another message dated 7:35 P. M., that they 
had gained contact with the right of our 109th 
Infantry, and further message dated 8:06 P. 
M. gave the information that in connection 
with the French, the advance guard comman- 
der was closing the gap between the two lines 
by placing two companies on the line and two 
companies in close support. The 1st Battalion 
was moved up to about 209.7-288.4. The 3rd 
Battalion, Headquarters Company and Com- 
panies B and D, 109th Machine Gun Battalion 
were placed in Les Bois Haut de Courlandon 
and Kegimental P. C. established at 209.2- 
287.5. At 11 :17 P. M., a message was sent by 
runner to the Commanding Officer, 109th In- 
fantry, advising him of the disposition of the 
several units of this regiment and requesting 
that runners be exchanged so that liaison 
could be maintained. Through the progress of 



APPENDIX 241 

these events the movements were made under 
almost constant enemy shell fire. These posi- 
tions were maintained during the night 5th-6th 
September, 1918, the front line being subjected 
to considerable machine gun fire from the en- 
emy. The morning of the 6th September, 1918, 
the Commanding Officer of the 111th Infantry 
called on the Commanding Officer, 109th In- 
fantry, meeting him as he was on his way to 
the R C. of the 55th Infantry Brigade. The 
general situation was discussed and the Com- 
manding Officer, 109th Infantry, was of the 
opinion that no more than one Battalion of 
the 111th Infantry was necessary to strength- 
en his line between his right and the French 
left. He also stated that his mission to his 
Brigade P. C. was to receive orders covering 
the general advance of the whole liue and that 
he would advise me as soon as he had definite 
information as to what was to be done. At 
12 :25 P. M., 6 September, 1918, the following 
message was received from the Commanding 
Officer, 109th Infantry : 

"From No. 1 Solo. 

At 288-209.3. 

Date: 6 September, 1918. Hour, 12:15. 

No. 2 Runner. 

To C. O., 111th Inf. 

We advance, general attack at 1 o'clock. 
Artillery preparation begins at 12 :56, prog- 
ress of the attack 100 meters to 4 minutes, at 



242 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

first line on the crest of the hill running north- 
east and southwest, the crest being imme- 
diately in your front, halt 30 minutes for cov- 
ering fire on that line. Next advance to be at 
100 meters in 5 minutes, next line halt about 
one kilometer in advance on a parallel line 
through La Grand Hameau and co-ordinate 
290-210. Halt on this line for one hour with 
covering artillery fire for the entire line, then 
progress at the rate of 100 meters in 5 minutes, 
fallowing the artillery barrage as far as possi- 
ble. I am directed by the Brigade Commander 
to call on you for one battalion of two com- 
panies in the first line and two in support and 
keep in contact with the French on your right. 
Answer. ^am, Colonel.'^ 

This message was immediately dispatched 
by runner to the Commanding Officer, 2nd 
Battalion, this regiment, with the instructions 
to carry out the order and if necessary he 
could call on the 1st Battalion which was in 
support for any help that might be needed. 
The above message was received by him at 
12 :45 P. M., and receipt of message of Com- 
manding Officer, 109th Infantry, was acknowl- 
edged, advising that the force requested wouid 
be furnished. This Battalion (2nd) joined in 
the attack and advanced about 300 meters be- 
yond the position originally held by them, 
when they met strong opposition which drove 
back the left of the French, exposing our right. 



APPENDIX 243 

Our line held and broke up two counte - 
attacks made by the enemy, and the Frencfc 
then moved forward and joined to the ri^ht 
of our line. The counter-attack was suffcientlv 
strong and our casualties were so heavy as to 
cause the Commanding Officer of the 2nd Bat- 
talion to call upon our 1st Battalion for help, 
and he further requested that the 3rd Batall- 
ion, this regiment, be moved up to closer sup- 
port in case it might T3e needed. The report 
of Major Dunlap, attached hereto, gives more 
minor details of the action. 

When the call was made for the 3rd Bat- 
talion to move up, the Oomanding Officer of 
this regiment temporarily moved his P. C. to 
that of the Commanding Officer of the 2nd 
Battalion in order to better judge the condi- 
tions existing. Major Dunlap had the situa- 
tion w^ell in hand, his dispositions were such 
as to repel any further counter-attacks and 
steps w^ere immediately taken to evacuate the 
wounded, bring up reserve ammunition and 
food for the men in the advance positions. 
The entire Headquarters Company was de- 
tailed for this work. All the work of evacua- 
tion, ammunition and food supply was started 
about 4 :30 P. M., 6 September, 1918, and con- 
tinued during the night of the 6th-7th Septem- 
ber, 1918. The approach to the position occu- 
pied by the troops was through a deep valley 
which was constantly shelled by the enemy, 
who used a large amount of gas, and the work 



244 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

of these carrying parties was extremely diffi- 
cult. During the morning of the Tth Septem- 
T>er, 1918, the writer visited the P. C. of the 
Commanding General, 55th Infantry Brigade, 
making verbal report of the operation and 
showing distribution of troops. Information 
was obtained there that the regiment would be 
relieved during the night of 7th-8th September, 
1918, by French troops. Later in the day the 
formal order was received and the relief by 
the 307th French Infantry was completed at 
3 A. M., 8th September, 1918, the regiment 
withdrawing in small parties to ravine at 
209.0-283.0, 203.0-279.7, and 202.8-281.95. 

3. During the attack, nine German prison- 
ers were taken, two of whom were badly 
wounded. These were given first-aid and for- 
warded with the wounded of this regiment. 
The other seven were marched under guard 
and turned over to the Commanding General, 
55th Infantry Brigade. There were all from 
the 20th Bavarian Infantry and one of them 
stated they had just taken their position in 
the line before the attack. The casualties dur- 
ing the period named were as follows: Offi- 
cers, killed, 4; wounded, 5. Enlisted men, 
killed, 32 ; wounded, 362 ; missing, 53. Of the 
53 missing it is believed that none were taken 
prisoners and that all will eventually be re- 
turned to their command. 

E. C. Shannon, 
Colonel, 111th Infantry. 



APPENDIX 245 

HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE 2ND 

BATTALION, lllTH INFANTRY, 

28TH DIVISION. 

The 2nd Battalion, 111th Infantry, com- 
posed of Companies E, F, G and H, under 
command of Captain William R. Dunlap, em- 
barked on the Liner Olympic on May 5th, 
1918, and disembarked at Southampton, Eng- 
land, on May 13th, 1918, and was transported 
by rail to Dover on the same day. Embarked 
on a transport on May 14th, 1918, and crossed 
the English Channel, landing at Calais, 
France, that night. On this night was expe- 
rienced the first enemy air raid, no bombs were 
dropped in the vicinity of the "Rest Camp," 
therefore no casualties. At this point we were 
equipped with gas masks, etc., and entrained 
on May 17th for the training area. Arrived at 
Haut Loquiih on May 18th, where three com- 
panies of the battalion were billeted with Com- 
pany F at Bas Loquin. Then followed an in- 
tensive training program wdth British Forces 
(16th Royal Scots). 

The battalion, along with the rest of the 
regiment, left this area on June 9th and 
marched to Bout de la Ville that day, the fol- 
lowing day reached Beaumetz les Aire and the 
march was concluded on June 11th, when we 
reached Anvin, and where we were quartered 
in shelter tents. Entrained from this point 
June 13th and moved to Le Raincy and de- 



246 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

trained June 14 th and marched to Vaudher- 
landy where we were billeted and started on a 
training program with the French. Left this 
area June 23rd and moved by auto trucks to 
St. Denis les Rebms, remaining there until 
June 29th, when we marched to Basseville, ar- 
riving there on the same date, and where we 
remained until July 4th, w^hen we took up the 
Secondary Defense Line in the vicinity of l^o- 
gent and Churly, and on the night of July 4th 
marched to the Grande Forest, arriving there 
the same date. On July 5th, the battalion 
marched to Basseville and from there to La 
None on the same day, leaving this point on 
July 8th for the Nogent-Charly Line^ and from 
there on the 13th we moved to the line in the 
vicinity of the Grand Queue Farm. At this 
time all moving was done under the cover of 
darkness. While in this position, on the night 
of July 14th, we received a heavy artillery fire 
from the enemy, but did not suffer any casual- 
ties. On the following day, however, a gas 
shell fell in a small building in which were a 
number of men from Company F and which 
resulted in about thirty casualties, men lx:ing 
gas burned and who were immediately evac- 
uated. The battalion was taken by auto trucks 
on the night of July 15th to reinforce the 3rd 
Division and arrived at the Bois de Aigremont 
at about 3 o'clock, July 16th, and on this date 
effected a relief of the 30th Infantry. On ihe 
afternoon of this day, we made our initial at- 



APPENDIX 247 

tack on the enemy when a counter-attack was 
launched with the object of driving the Ger- 
man Forces, who had crossed the Marne, back 
across the river or taking them prisoners. The 
attack was successful and our forces re-occu- 
pied the sector to the river extending from 
Fossoy to the vicinity of Mezy. The 7th In- 
fantry was on our left and the 38th on our 
right. This position was held until July 21st, 
when we were relieved by the 7th Infantry 
and 38th Infantry, which extended their 
flanks, and we moved to the Grand Bordeaux 
Farm, arriving there on the same day. That 
night we marched to Chateau Thierry, where 
we remained until July 23rd, when we started 
in the 5th German Offensive Campaign, and on 
July 24th the battalion relieved a battalion of 
the 26th Division in the vicinity of Epieds, 
and on the morning of July 24th launched an 
attack on this village, but found it had been 
evacuated on the previous night. We took up 
the advance immediately and encountered the 
enemy in Foret de Fere, where the enemy was 
employing numerous machine gun nests snp- 
ported by artillery. In this action we suffered 
numerous casualties until relieved by the 42nd 
Division, a battalion of the 167th Infantry ef- 
fecting the relief. The battalion then marched 
to Bois de Tnifjny. where it rested with the 
balance of the regiment for two days and 
marched to the Foret de Fere in the vicinity 
of the Croiw Rouge Fme., our battalion, alon^ 



248 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

with the rest of the regiment, being held in. re- 
serve. 

This battalion relieved a battalion of the 
112th in a position in Le Grand Savarf^ the 
front being along the railroad, at this point 
north of the Vesle River. During the 10th of 
August strong patrols reconnoitered the woods 
northeast of this position toward Chateaiv de 
Diahl and it was found that the enemv was 
strongly entrenched with machine gun nests, 
supported by infantry. In this position, we 
were under constant enemy artillery fire, as 
well as snipers, who were causing us consid- 
erable trouble, and the enemy took advantage 
of the low ground and used considerable gas, 
but our casualties from gas were very sllglit. 
On the morning of the 11th, an attack >vas 
launched with the Rheims Road as the objec- 
tive. The attack was very successful, we driv- 
ing the enemy from his strongly held machine 
gun positions on the north side of the railroad 
and capturing about thirty machine guns, but 
owing to our barrage, as well as that of ihe 
enemy's, falling on the position, we were farced 
to fall back, as the shell fire was terrific and 
it was impossible to hold the position. We 
suffered very heavily in this operation, but the 
enemy's losses were much more, and from this 
time on we held the initiative and experienced 
little difficulty in re-occupying the captured 
territory of the previous attack, this position 
being held until relieved on the night of the 



APPENDIX 249 

14th of August by a battalion of the 305th In- 
fantry, 77th Division. From this position we 
marched to La Garenne, arriving there on the 
morning of the 15th. The battalion remained 
in the reserve positon until the afternoon of 
September 5th, 1918, when, pursuant to F O. 
No. 32, Headquarters 56th Infantry Brigade, 
dated September 5th, 1918, we left our position 
(ravine one kilometer southeast of Fismes) 
as advance guard of the regiment with a mis- 
sion to gain contact with the left of the French 
(4th Regiment, 9th Division), and the right of 
the 55th Infantry Brigade (U. S.). The mis- 
sion was completed at 7 P. M., September 5th, 
1918, the line being established at point 209.2- 
288.7 to 210.2-288.3, with two companies on 
the line and two companies in close support. 
At 12 :45 P. M., September 6th, 1918, a memc- 
randum was received from Colonel Ham, com- 
manding 109th Infantry (the right element of 
the 55th Brigade), stating that we were to 
participate in a general attack which was to 
be launched at 13:00 hour, September 6th, 
1918. At 13 :02, the battalion went over the 
top with Companies F and H, commanded by 
Captain Robert S. Cain, in the first wave, and 
Companies E and G in the second wave, com- 
manded by Captain Arthur L. Schlosser. The 
battalion was supported by the Machine Gun 
Company, 111th Infantry, and the 1st Bat- 
talion, 111th Infantry, with the 3rd Battalion, 
111th Infantry, in reserve. The line advanced 



250 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

to a line from 209.9-289.2 to 210.4-288.9, where 
a counter-attack was launched by the enemy 
(20th Bavarian Infantry). The French on 
our right withdrew in the face of the couiiter- 
attack aibout a distance of 200 yards, but our 
troops, assisted by the machine gun fire from 
the 111th Machine Gun Company, broke up 
the counter-attack without giving any grc^und, 
and through this work, enabled the French on 
our right to pull up with the lines. This posi- 
tion was organized and held until relieved by 
the 307th French Infantry, which was com- 
pleted at 3 A. M., Septem'ber 8th, 1918. On 
being relieved, our troops marched to tlie 
vicinity of St. Gilles. In this operation nine 
prisoners were taken. Our casualties were: 
Officers, killed, 4 ; wounded, *5. Enlisted men, 
killed, 30; wounded, 240. 

The division being relieved, we moved south, 
leaving St. Gilles September 9th, 1918, left 
Bois des Rheims, September 10th, arriving at 
Bois de la Bouley September 12th, 1918. 
Marched to Bois Epernay, where we embussed 
on the night of September 12th, 1918, and ar- 
rived at Mogneville September 13th, 1918, 
where we rested for two days, and then started 
a training program which was stopped in the 
afternoon when replacements were received, 
and pursuant to V. O. C. O., the battalion, 
along with other elements of the 111th In- 
fantry, proceeded to march on the night of 
September 16th, 1918, to the Argonne Forest, 



APPENDIX 251 

arriving there September 18th, 1918, and 
rested imtil the night of September 25th, 1918, 
when the Meuse-Argonne offensive started. 

At the start, of the Meuse-Argonne offensive, 
the battalion acted as division reserve and on 
the afternoon of September 26th, 1918, in com- 
pliance with telephonic orders from the Divi- 
sion Commander, advanced from the point of 
departure to report to C. O., 56th Infantry 
Brigade, and then to form a combat liaison 
between the 77th Division on the left of our 
Division Sector and the right of the 112th 
Infantry, which occupied the left of the 28th 
Division Sector, the liaison between these two 
units having been broken. Contact with the 
above units was est^ablished early evening of 
September 26th, 1918, and at dawn Septem- 
ber 27th, 1918, the battalion was ordered to 
advanee in conjunction with the 77th Division 
on our left and the 112th Infantry on our 
right. Companies F and G on the front line 
and E and H on the second line, were only able 
to move forward a short distance and was held 
up by intense fire from the enemy, who was 
strongly entrenched in the vicinity of co- 
ordinance 00.0-71 to 01.0-79, this position be- 
ing supported by machine gun nests, trench 
mortars and 37 mms. These trenches were pro- 
tected by very heavy wire entaglements all 
along the front. The battalion was held at this 
position until the morning of September 28th, 
1918, when our battalion occupied their 



252 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

trenches 8 :30 A. M., and there waited the ad- 
vance of the 77th Division to maintain along 
our left, we having advanced without the 77th 
Division. 

At this point the battalion was replaced by 
the 3rd Battalion, 111th Infantry, who took 
up the advance, our battalion being ordered 
to report to the Chief of Staff, 28th Division, at 
Varennes. . The battalion commander reported 
in the afternoon and was there given verbal in- 
structions to report with his battalion to the 
C. O. 55th Infantry Brigade for disposal. 
While enroute to fulfill this mission, we were 
met by the Division Commander, Major Gren- 
eral Charles H. Muir, who instructed Major 
Dunlap to take his battalion to the vicinity of 
Monthlainville and remain there for the 
night. The morning of the 29th of September, 
1918, the battalion was ordered to report to 
the C. 0., 56th Infantry Brigade (Colonel 
Conger) for disposition. The battalion 
reached the advance element of the 56th In- 
fantry Brigade aibout 10 A. M., and was or- 
dered to take Le Chene Tondu, attack to be 
made at 11 :30 A. M. Owing to our artillery 
barrage falling in the area over which we were 
to advance, the attack was delayed until about 
11 :45 A. M., when the battalion advanced over 
the crest of the ridge and was there held up 
by the enemy's strongly held position. At this 
point, Captain Arthur L. Schlosser, Command- 
ing Officer, Company G, 111th Infantry, was 



APPENDIX 253 

killed, and our casualties from enemy machine 
gun nests and snipers were very heavy. Com- 
panies E' and H were in the assaulting wave, 
closely supported by Companies F and G. 
Attack was made at 6 P. M., this date, in com- 
pliance with orders of the brigade commander, 
who had ordered preparatory machine gun 
barrage. Before this attack had properly de- 
veloped, darkness fell and Companies E and 
H suffered numerous casualties, they having 
•advanced to their objective, but owing to the 
impossibility to dislodge the enemy on our left, 
the line was re-established at point from which 
it started. Our battalion orgauized this line 
on Le Chene Tondu and on the morning of 
September 30th, 1918, the enemy launched a 
counter attack at dawn which was repulsed 
after inflicting heavy losses on the enemy, and 
this position was held until the morning of 
October 6th, 1918. The enemy evacuated this 
position and the battalion went forward to La 
Yergette, where Companies E and F were sta- 
tioned to protect this point, and Companies G 
and H went around the right flank to dislodge 
the enemy who was holding up the advance of 
our 1st Battalion. Companies G and H spent 
the night at Slope Hill 244 and in the morn- 
ing, in conjunction with Companies E and F, 
who were given orders to report to the battal- 
ion commander for disposal, for liaison with 
a battalion of the 77th Division on our left, at 
2 :30 P. M., the advance was resumed in con- 



254 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

junction with the 77th Division on our left 
and reached the old railroad which was our 
objective. We were later ordered to advance 
disregarding our flanks, which was complied 
with about 5 P. M., with Companies G and H 
on the first line and E and F in support. The 
line advanced about 500 yards, both being held 
up by heavy machine gun fire from the enemy. 
Company E and Machine Gun Company, 111th 
Infantry, being used to protect the flanks of 
the first line. V^Tiile in this position the bat- 
talion was relieved by a battalion of the 82nd 
Division, the relief being completed under a 
heavy fog about 7 A. M. 

The division being relieved, we later moved 
by trucks to Jouy-les-CoteSj arriving there Oc- 
tober 11th, 1918, where we remained until the 
night of October 15th, 1918, when we moved 
by trucks to Pannes and from there marched 
to the front line position in the vicinity of 
Jaulny, where we relieved two battalions of the 
37th Division. While in this position numer- 
ous raids were effected. We were relieved by 
a battalion of the 7th Division on October 
28th, 1918, and from there went back to rest 
at Bois de Nonsard^ arriving there same date. 

The battalion remained at Boi^ de Nonsard 
training and preparing for another drive until 
the 7th of November, when we received the 
alert at 2 :45 A. M. and remained in readiness 
to march to Xammes and support the 1st Bat- 
talion. The order giving the alert was re- 



APPENDIX 255 

scinded the same day and the training program 
was resumed. 

On November 10th, at 3 A. M., an order was 
received to prepare to move into the lines at 
once. At 5 A. M. the battalion marched to 
^t. Benoity thence to XammeSy and received 
orders to support the 1st Battalion in an at- 
tack on Dampvitoux, zero hour being 2 P. M. 
From Xammes the battalion marched to Bois 
de Chary, where we took up our position ; the 
I'st Battalion having just then cleared the 
Bois de Chary, and waited for word from the 
1st Battalion that they had reached their ob- 
jective, at which time w^e were to advance 
through and take Donmartin. No message 
having been received as to their progress. Cap- 
tain Fetterman, acting battalion commander, 
led the battalion to the southern edge of Bois 
Donmartin, reporting to Lieut. Colonel Sue- 
cop, who stated that the attack had failed and 
that his battalion was retreating. H Com- 
pany immediately passed through them and 
took up a position on the northern edge of the 
woods, driving the Germans back to their 
trenches. E Company, in the meantime, had 
taken a position on the right of H Company. 
G Company sent a platoon to reinforce the left 
of H Company and the remainder of G Com- 
pany and all of F Company remained in close 
support. The entire battalion was in position 
about 5 P. M. Report was made to Colonel 
Armistead and he ordered us to hold that posi- 



256 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

tion for the night and be prepared to resume 
the advance at dawn, the 3rd Battalion being 
in support. About 4 :10 A. M., November 11th, 
word was received that the advance would not 
be continued, and at 9 :30 A. M., a message was 
received that all hostilities would cease at 11 
A. M. We left the Bois Donmartin at 6 P. M. 
and marched back to Bois de Nonsard^ arriv- 
ing there about 11 :3Q P. M. Our casualties 
were four men killed and twenty-three 
wounded. On November 16th, H Company 
was sent to Mo/rs la Tour to return prisoners 
of war. They remained there until November 
24th. 

The battalion remained at the Bois de Non- 
sard training and salvaging until December 
23rd, when we moved to Hattonville. The 
training program was continued there until 
January 6th, when the whole division moved 
south. Battalion Headquarters was in 
Burey en Vaux, with Companies F and H, and 
Companies E and G were on the other side of 
the Meuse River in Sepvigny. The battalion 
entrained at Maxey sur Vaise for Le Moms 
March 16th, 1919, arriving there March 18th, 
1919. Entrained at Le Mans for St. Nazaire, 
Port of Embarkation, April 13th, 1919, arriv- 
ing there April 14th, 1919, and embarking for 
the United States April 18th, 1919. Arrived in 
the United States April 29th, 1919. 



APPENDIX 257 

Headquarters, 111th Infantry, 
American Expeditionary Forces, France, 
April 9th, 1919. 
From: Commanding Officer, 111th In- 
fantry. 
To: Commanding General, 28th Divi- 

sion. 
Subject: History of the 111th Infantry in 
American Expeditionary Forces. 

1. The 111th U. S. Infantry left Camp 
Hancock, Georgia, April 28th, 1918, at noon, 
in four trains routed for Camp Upton, N. Y., 
and arrived at that station on May 1st, 1918. 
On May 2nd, 3rd and 4t.h, the time was occu- 
pied with the necessary paper work and inspec- 
tion of equipment of the command in prepara- 
tion for sailing overseas. On May 5th, the 
regiment left Camp Upton by train and 
boarded the H. M. S. "Olympic" in New York 
City. This transport also carried Headquar- 
ters, 56th Infantry Brigade, and two battal- 
ions of the 59th U. S. Infantry, which organi- 
zation was in command of Major Farrell. 

2. The transport sailed at 2 P. M., and the 
trip was uneventful until 4 A. M. May 12th, 
at which hour the transport rammed the Ger- 
man Submarine U-103. At 4 A. M. on May 
11th, the transport was picked up at sea by 
four U. S. Destroyers, which convoyed the 
transport until 4 A. M. May 12th. When the 
transport rammed the submarine, these de- 
stroyers immediately surrounded the sinking 



258 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

boat and picked up fifteen survivors. At 6 :30 
A. M., May 12th, land was sighted and the 
outer harbor of Southampton, England, 
reached. Transport came to anchor at 2 :30 
P.M. 

3. The regiment landed at Southampton 
at 2 P. M., May 13th, and boarded troop trains 
for Dover J arriving there at 8 P. M. Troops 
were placed in barracks in that city for the 
night and on May 14th the entire regiment 
was transported by boat from Dover, England, 
to Calais, France, arriving at 2 :45 P. M., and 
marching to a British Rest Camp, where 
troops were sheltered in canvas tents. On 
May 16th and 17th, all surplus clothing, bar- 
rack bags and U. S. rifles were turned over 
to the British and the British rifle issued in 
lieu thereof. All officers and men were put 
through the gas house and Issued British gas 
masks. 

4. On May 18th, the regiment left Calais 
at 7:45 A. M., by troop train and arrived at 
Lumhres at 2 :3Q P. M., marching from that 
station to the vicinity of Seninghem, where 
they were billeted for the night. On May 19th, 
the regiment marched from Seninghem and 
took up the following stations : Regimental 
Headquarters, Headquarters Company and 
Supply Company at Alquines; 1st Battalion, 
Bouvelinghem; 2nd Battalion, Haut Loqmn 
and Bas Louqm; 3rd Battalion, Journy; and 
Machine Gun Company, Le Wast. 



APPENDIX 259 

5. From May lOtli until June 9th, 1918, the 
division was in training with the British 
Forces, the training of this regiment being un- 
der the supervision of Lieut. Colonel Stephen- 
son, 16th Royal Scots. During the period of 
training, all the men of the regiment fired the 
British rifle on the rifle ranges. On June 8th, 
the British rifles were exchanged for the U. S. 
rifle, model 1917, and on June 9th the regiment 
started on a three days' march to Anvin. On 
the night of June 9-10, Regimental Headquar- 
ters was in Thiemhronne, night of June 10-11, 
Lishourg, arriving in Anvin 1 :20 P. M., June 
11th, and bivouacking there on the outskirts 
of that towTi. 

6. At 9 :20 P. M., June 12th, 1918, the regi- 
ment begain entraining, the first train leav- 
ing the station at Anvin at 12 :27 A. M., June 
13th, arriving at Le Raincy 9 :20 P. M., June 
13th, The several trains used to transport the 
regiment carried all the animal transport of 
the regiment, and upon arriving at Le Raincy 
the troops were detrained and unloaded the 
transport, and at 11 :35 P. M., June 1311i, 
started to march, arriving at Bouneuil at 4 :45 
A. M., June lith, where billets were procured 
for the troops. On June 15th, Regimental 
Headquarters was moved to Le TMllay, at 
which town were stationed Headquarters Com- 
pany, Supply Company and 3rd Battalion; 
the 1st Battalion in Bonneuil; 2nd Battalion, 



260 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

Vaudherland; and Machine Gun Oompany in 
Fort de Stain, 

7. The above change of stations relieved iis 
from training with the British Forces and 
brought us under the control of the French 
Army, and on June 15th training with the 
troops of that army was begun and continued 
up to and including June 22nd. 

8. On June 23rd, the regiment was moved 
by trucks to ^^'f. Denis les Rehais^ where train- 
ing under the French troops was continued. 

9. On June 29th, the regiment changed 
station by marching. Regimental Headquar- 
ters was established in Pit, Villiers. While 
marching to this point, an order was received 
from the Brigade Commander, directing that 
two platoons of infantry were to be chosen by 
the Regimental Commander and directed to 
proceed by marching to Basseville^ where a 
guide would be met to take them to the station 
of the 153rd French Infantry. On arriving at 
that station they were reported to the Com- 
manding Officer of that organization for duty. 
The 153rd French Infantry, part of the 39th 
French Division, under the command of Gen- 
eral Pougin, was operating in the vicinity of 
Hill 204. The Regimental Commander selected 
one platoon from Company A and one platoon 
from Company B, consisting of one officer and 
fifty men in each platoon. These two platoons 
reported on time and served with the 153rd 
French Infantry, joining with them in an at- 



APPENDIX 261 

tack on Hill 204 in the afternoon of July 1st, 
where they made a brilliant record for their 
dash and courage. Both platoon commanders 
have been decorated with the Croix de Guerre, 
as well as a numl>er of enlisted men from each 
platoon, and each platoon, as a unit, has been 
awarded the Croix de Guerre. The two 
platoons rejoined the regiment July 2nd, with 
a total of two officers and sixty-one men, with 
casualties of thirty-nine men. 

10. While training in the new area, regi- 
mental, battalion and company commanders 
were conducted by French officers to the 
ground on which we established a reserve line 
on the south bank of the Mame River^ which 
was to be used in case of a further advance of 
the German forces. At midnight July 3rd^ 
the regiment was ordered to occupy this line 
and the occupation was completed at 6 :30 A. 
M., July 4th. At noon of July 4th, the regi- 
ment was ordered to move, by marching, to 
Grande Foret, arriving there at 6 P. M., where 
it went into bivouac, and at 5 :30 A. M., July 
5th, moved, by marching, to its former billets 
in the Basseville area, with Regimental Head- 
quarters at Vatrie. At 8:45 P. M., the same 
date, Regiment-J Headquarters was moved to 
Fosse Ardois. On July 5th, the Trench Mor- 
tar Platoon of Headquarters Company was or- 
dered to join the 153rd French Infantry. The 
platoon rejoined the regiment July 7th, with 
casualties of three men killed. On July 7th, 



262 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

one platoon from Company L and one platoon 
from Company M were sent to serve with the 
153rd French Infantry. On July 9th, Com- 
panies I and K were sent to serve with the 
146th French Infantry in an operation around 
Vaux and Hill 204. On July 8th, the entire 
regiment took position on the reserve line, with 
Regimental Headquarters in Le Mesnil^ and 
occupied the Regimental Sector until July 
13th, 1918, during Vhich period a number of 
changes in the line were made, owing to the de- 
tachment of the several units of the regiment. 
During this period the line was subjected to 
considerable enemy shell fire, particularly in 
the sector occupied by the 2nd Battalion, and 
later by that occupied by the 3rd Battalion in 
the vicinity of Nogent V Artaud. 

11. On July 15th, the 2nd Battalion was 
ordered to be reported to the Commanding 
General, 3rd Division, in the vicinity of Per- 
tihout Fme. for the relief of the 30th U. S. 
Infantry, which was operating along the 
Marne River between Fossoy and Crezancy. 
On July 16th, the 1st Battalion was ordered 
to Viffort and taken by truck from that point 
and reported to the Commanding General, 3rd 
Division, and used in support of our 2nd Bat- 
talion, which had taken over the front line of 
the 30th U. S. Infantry. On July 17th, two 
companies of the 30th U. S. Infantry arrived 
in Le Mesnil, under command of Major Castle, 
very much demoralized by their recent ser- 



APPENDIX 263 

vice. They were bivouacked in the woods near 
that town and fed by our troops. The same 
date, the Regimental Commander was directed 
to rex>ort on the following day to the Com- 
manding Greneral, 3rd Division, with Head- 
quarters Company and Machine Gun Com- 
pany. On July 18th, Companies I and K re- 
turned from duty with the French Army and 
rejoined the 3rd Battalion at Petite Noues. 
The same date, the Regimental Commander, 
with the Headquarters Company and Machine 
Gun Company, reported to the Commanding 
General, 3rd Division, and was directed to pro- 
ceed by marching to Grieves Fme.^ where 
guides would be met to conduct the troops to 
the position of the 30th U. S. Infantry. At 
1 :15 A. M. the troops reached the position of 
the 30th U. S. Infantry^ and tho Regimental 
Commander took over the command of the sec- 
tor, relieving Colonel Edmund L. Butts. While 
going into this position there were a number 
of casualties caused by heavy enemy shell fire. 
12. During the night of July 20-21, the sec- 
tor held by this regiment was taken over by 
the 7th and 38th Infantries, this regiment 
withdrawing and marching to Grande Bor- 
deaux Fme.j arriving at that point at 4 A. M., 
July 21st. At 3 :30 P. M., the same date, on 
verbal orders, Captain Boles, aide to the Com- 
manding General, 28th Division, the regiment 
marched through Chateau Thierry, crossed the 
Marne River on a pontoon bridge and biv- 



264 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

Quacked near Brasles. Late in the afternoon 
of July 22nd, the regiment was moved into the 
Bois De Barhilon and bivouacked. At 1 :30 A. 
M., July 23rd, orders were received directing 
the regiment to move to Verdilly, thence hy 
the route of the 112th Infantry, which was in- 
dicated in the order, to Grande Rue Fme. 
While enroute verbal orders were received 
directing the Commanding Officer of this regi- 
ment to report with his regiment to the Com- 
manding General, 26th Division, on the arrival 
of his troops at Grande Rue Fme. This order 
was completed at 9 A. M., and the troops were 
bivouacked in the woods east and north of the 
above mentioned fann. On the afternoon of 
this same day the Regimental Commander was 
ordered to reconnoiter the positions held by 
the 101st and 102nd U. S. Infantries, with the 
view of relieving them during the night with 
the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of this regiment. 
This order was complied with and the relief 
completed 3 :30 A. M., July 24th. While the 
relief was being carried out, orders were re- 
ceived to make an attack at 6 :15 A. M. The 
attack was started on time, and as no opposi- 
tion was met, the advance was continued under 
orders of the Commanding General of the 56th 
Infantry Brigade, who, in the meantime, had 
taken over the sector, and who directed that 
the advance should be continued until strong 
resistance was met with. The objective was to 
be La Croix Rouge Fme. The advance con- 



APPENDIX 265 

tinued during the day with little opposition, 
except some macliine gun fire on the left flank 
of the sector, and while advancing through the 
Foret De Fere, ahout 4 P. M., severe machine 
gun fire was met with. An effort was made to 
clear the way, two companies in the action. 
Tliis fight occurred in a dense forest and con- 
tinued for about an hour. Owing to the ap- 
proach of darkness and the strong opposition 
met with, it was decided to hold the ground 
gained and entrench for the night. The casual- 
ties thus far were five killed and fifteen 
wounded. Company K was placed on the front 
line and dug in; the balance of the troops 
echeloned to the rear and dug in. During the 
night the position was subjected to heavy 
enemy shelling, principally Austrian 88's. The 
position was held during that night and the 
following day. In the late afternoon, orders 
were received that the sector would be taken 
over by the 167th U. S. Infantry. Relief was 
completed after dark that night and the 
troops marched to Conrpoil and thence to 
Trugny WoodSj where the regiment was as- 
sembled and bivouacked. 

13. On July 28th, the regiment was moved 
to the Vente Jean De Guillame, and held in 
reserve at that point until August 3rd. On the 
night of August 3rd, the regiment was moved 
by marching through Gierges, Sergy and Gour- 
mont to Party Farm (Villome), and bivouack- 
ed there. On August 5th, the regiment was 



266 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

moved to Bois Chenet and held in that vicinity 
until August 8th, when the 1st Battalion and 
one-pounder platoon of Headquarters Com- 
pany was sent to the support of the 112th U. 
S. Infantry, who had relieved troops of the 
32nd Division on the Vesle River, On August 
9th, the 2nd Battalion was sent as fur*ther sup- 
port to the 112th Infantry, and on August 10th 
the command of the sector was taken over by 
the Commanding Officer of the 111th Infantry, 
and the entire regiment placed in position. The 
regiment operated in this sector, including 
Fismes, Fismette^ and two kilometres west of 
Fismes, from August 10th to 14th. On the 
night of August 15th the left sector of the regi- 
ment was relieved by a battalion of the 305th 
U. S. Infantry, 77th Division, and the right 
sector by the 109th U. S. Infantry, 28th Di- 
vision, this regiment withdrawing and bi- 
vouacking in the vicinity of Abhy d' Igny, re- 
maining there until August 18th, when it was 
moved to the support line in the vicinity of 
Dravegfiy. This position was held, with bat- 
talions alternating in the front line on the 
Vesle River until September 4th, when the 
3rd Battalion recaptured Fismette. On Sep- 
tember 5th, the 3rd Battalion was withdrawn 
from Fismette and the regiment ordered to 
close a gap in the positions between the right 
of the 109th U. S. Infantrv^ and the left of i\iQ 
French troops operating north of the Yesle 
River in the vicinity of Coiirlandon. The gap 



APPENDIX 267 

was closed on the night of September 5th, and 
on the afternoon of September 6th a general 
advance in the entire line was made, which re- 
sulted in a brisk engagement, with rather 
heavy casualties. The ground gained was held 
and on the night of September 7-8, the regi- 
ment was relieved by troops from the 62nd 
French Division and marched to St. Gilles. On 
September 9th, the regiment was moved^ by 
marching, to Bois Be Reims. On September 
10th, the regiment moved by marching to Bois 
Be Ln Bouloy, and rested in bivouac until 
September 12th, when it was moved by trucks 
to Mogneville, Contrisson and Beury. The 
regiment rested here until the night of Sep- 
tember 16th, when it received orders to move 
to the vicinity of Neufour, marching by night. 
14. This area was the point selected for 
this regiment in the operation in the Argonne 
Forest. On the night of September 25th, the 
regiment was moved to position to jump off at 
2:30 A. M., September 26th, in the Argonne 
Brive, and from 2 :30 A. M., September 26th 
until October 10th, the regiment was in the 
front line in the drive through the Argonne^ 
being relieved by the 82nd U. S. Division on 
October 9-10. The regiment was marched to 
the vicinity of Pont cm Lune. On October 
11th the regiment marched to Parois^ where it 
took trucks for the new area, with Eegimental 
Headquarters at Rangevale, 1st and 2nd Bat- 
talion Headquarters at Jouy-les-Cotes, 3rd 



268 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

Battalion at Euville. The regiment rested here 
until October 15th, when it Avas moved to the 
Thiaucourt Hector, relieving the 37th Division. 

15. On the night of the 27th of October, the 
2nd and 3rd Battalions were relieved by the 
64th U. S. Infantry, the 1st Battalion remain- 
ing in the line. The 2nd and 3rd Battalions 
were bivouacked in the Bois de Nonsard until 
November 4th, when the 3rd Battalion was 
moved to Beney in support of the 1st Battalion 
on a reconnaissance. The attack was unsuc- 
cessful and the 3rd Battalion was returned to 
their original bivouac. On November 5th, the 
1st Battalion was relieved by the 112th In- 
fantry and bivouacked in Bois De Buixeran- 
hois in the vicinity of Nonsard. 

16. Field Order No. 56, issued November 
8t(h, going into effect on November 9th, moved 
the 1st Battalion to Xaimnes and the remain- 
der of the regiment at 7 A. M., on November 
10th to Ht. Donmartin. The attack by the 1st 
Battalion being unsuccessful, the 2nd and 3rd 
Battalions were moved to its support on the 
10th and were in the line November 11th at 
11 A. M. when the Armistic went into effect. 

17. By direction of the Commanding Gen- 
eral, the regiment returned to its area in the 
vicinity of Nonsard on the afternoon of No- 
vember 11th, and remained there in training 
and salvaging until December 11th. The 1st 
Battalion was moved to Pannes to a better 
area. On December 20th, the 2nd Battalion 



APPENDIX 269 

was moved to Hattonville. On December 21st, 
the 1st Battalion moved to Greue. This move 
was for the bettering of billets for the men. 
On December 23rd, Regimental Headquarters 
and Headquarters Company was also moved to 
Creue. The regiment remained in the new 
area until January 6th, when the division was 
moved to the Colomhey-les-Belle area, with 
Regimental Headquarters at Maxey-sur-YaAse^ 
1st Battalion Headquarters at Maxey-sur- 
Vaisey 2nd Battalion at Burey-en-Yaux, 3rd 
Battalion at Champougny. Headquarters 
were established at Maxey-sur-Yaise January 
8th. The regiment remained in this area in 
training until March 16th, when the move was 
begun to the Le Mans area. Move was com- 
pleted March 19th, with the entire regiment in 
the Le Mans Forwarding Camp. 

18. The casualties for this regiment were 
as follows : 

Fifth German Offensive, Chatea/w Thierry, 
July 14th, 1918 : Killed— Officers, 2 ; men, 29. 
Wounded — Officers, 3; men, 369. Missing — 
Officers, ; men, 26. 

Advance on the Yesle River, July 28th to 
September 7th, 1918: Killed— Officers, 14; 
men, 179. Wounded — Officers, 18; men, 956. 
Missing — Officers, ; men, 290. 

Meiise-Argonne Offensive, September 26th to 
October 10: Killed— Officers, 3; Men, 259. 
Wounded — Officers, 11; Men, 563. Missing — 
Officers, ; Men, 69. 



270 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

Thiaucourt Sector^ October 15th to Novem- 
ber 11th, 1918 : Killed— Officers, 1 ; Men, 29 ; 
Wounded — ^Officers, 1; Men, 189; Missing — 
Officers, 0; Men, 91 

Totals: Killed— Officers, 30; Men, 496; 
Wounded — ^^Officers, 33 ; Men, 2,077. Missing — 
Officers, ; Men, 482. 

19. The following Grerman material was 
captured by the several units of this Regiment 
during the actions named below : 

Companies I and K, on Hill 204 with 146th 
French Infantry, two light Machine Guns and 
loading machine, July 9th, 1918. 

Attack on Foret De Fere, July 24th, 1918, 
two light machine guns. 

August llth-15th, 1918, Fismette, one heavy 
machine gun, eight light machine guns, seven 
flame throwers. 

August llth-15th, on Vesle River, West of 
Fismes, thirty light machine guns. 

August 31st, 1918, on Vesle River, one light 
machine gun. 

September 5th-7th, North of Vesle River, 
four light machine guns. 

Argonne Action, September 26th-Octol>er 
10th, 1918: 

2 — 210's on first day of Argonne drive near 
Pont au Liine ; 

2 — 6 inch Howitzers near Pont au Lune; 

6 — Narrow gauge cars with artillery ammu- 
nition ; 



APPENDIX 271 

2 — Narrow gauge locomotives on Lre Chene 
Tondu ; 

1 — Dummy Tank on Le Chene Tondu ; 

1 — German Canteen (Cigars, cigarettes, 
white bread, fresh vegetables, fresh beef), in 
sector West of Varennes ; 

1 — Complete German Supply Train South 
of Le Chene Tondu ; 

1 — German Field Hospital on Le Chene 
Tondu ; 

1 — German Munition Dump on Le Chene 
Tondu ; 

1 — German moving picture house. Beer Gar- 
den and gymnasium on Le Chene Tondu ; 

5 — Heavy machine guns on Le Chene Tondu ; 

23 — Light machine guns on Le Chene Tondu. 
E. C. SHANNON, 
Colonel, 111th Infantry. 



CITATIONtS. 
VI Army 
Hq. 3rd Bureau P. C, the 26 July, 1918. 

No. 2. 283/3 

Note. 
The President of the Republic during a visit 
that he had made to the VI Army has ex- 
pressed his satisfaction on the results obtained 
as well as for the qualities of bravery^ and en- 
durance that have been showTi by all the units 
of the army. 



272 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

The General commanding the VI Army is 
pleased to transmit to the troops of his army 
the felicitations of the President of the Re- 
public. (Signed) General Degoutte. 



VI Army 

Hq. 3rd Bureau P. C, the 26th July, 1918. 

No. 2. 284/3 

Note. 

The General commanding the VI Army de- 
sires to bring to the attention of the troops of 
the Army the following resolution passed by 
the Mayors of the arrondissement of Mecmx at 
a meeting held 20th of July, 1918 : 

"The mayors of the arrondissement of 
Meanx at a meeting on July 20, 1918, are 
pleased to welcome the great victory of the VI 
Army that has saved their communes from the 
invasion that was menacing them at the time 
of the battle of the Marne. 

They desire to convey to the valiant troops 
of the VI Army a sincere expression of their 
gratitude and their admiration. 

Le President du Gongres des Maires. 
(Signed) G. Hugel, 
Maire de Meaux, Depute de Seine-Marne/' 

The General Commanding the VI Army is 
pleased to transmit these felicitations to the 
troops of his army. 

(Signed) General Degoutte. 



APPENDIX 273 

X Armee 

Etat-Major 

3rd Bureau Au. Q. G. A., 30 July, 1918. 

No. 862/S. 

ORDER GENERAL No. 318. 

OFFICERS, NON-COMMISSIONED 

OFFICERS AND SOLDIERS OF 

THE 28TH DIVISION: 

Shoulder to shoulder to your French com- 
rades you were thrown into the counter-offen- 
sive hattle which commenced on the 18th of 
July. 

You rushed into the fight as though to a 
fete. 

Your magnificent courage completely routed 
a surprised enemy and your indomitable ten- 
acity checked the counter-attacks of his fresh 
divisions. 

You have shown yourselves worthy sons of 
your great country and you were admitted by 
your brothers in arms. 

91 guns, 7200 prisoners, immense booty, 10 
kilometers of country reconquered; this is 
your portion of the spoil of this victory. 

Furthermore, you have really felt your su- 
-perioritj over the barbarous enemy of the 
whole human race, against whom the children 
of Liberty are striving. 

To attack him is to vanish him. 



274 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

American Comrades: I am grateful to you 
for the blood so generously spilled on the soil 
of my country. 

I am proud to have commanded you during 
such days and to have fought with you for the 
deliverance of the world. 

( Signed ) Mangin. 



VI ARMY Headquarters, Aug , 1918. 

38th Army Corps (French) 
Ordre. 

The time having come for him to hand over 
the command of the zone of battle to General 
Bullard, commanding the 3rd Corps, A. E. F., 
General Mondesir, commanding the 38th 
French Corps, addresses all his thanks to the 
splendid troops of the 28th and 32nd American 
Divisions, who have proved during the pur- 
suit, which is still being continued, not only 
their courage, but also their staying qualities. 

The casualties, the toils and the hardships, 
due to the difficulty of bringing up rations dur- 
ing the marching and fighting of this period, 
were unable to break their high morale, their 
go and their warlike spirit. 

General de Mondesir is proud to have the 

opportunity to command them. He hopes that 

the day will come when he will have them next 

to him as comrades in our common fight. 

(Signed) L. de Mondesir, 

General Commanding 38th Army Corps. 



APPENDIX 275 

G. H. Q., 
American Expeditionary Forces. 

General Orders ) -r^ . oo -.^^o 

^j ^.^ > France, Aug. 28, 1918. 

No. 143. ) > & ? 

It fills me with pride to record in General 
Orders a tribute to the service and achieve- 
ments of the 1st and 3rd Corps, comprising 
the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 26th, 28th, 32nd and 
42nd Divisions of the American Expeditionary 
Forces. 

You came to the battlefield at the crucial 
hour of the Allied cause. For almost four 
years the most formidable army the world has 
as yet seen had pressed its invasion of France, 
and stood threatening its capital. At no time 
had that army been more powerful or men- 
acing than when, on July 15th, it struck again 
to destroy in one great battle the brave men 
opposed to it and to enforce its brutal will 
upon the world and civilization. 

Three days later, in conjunction with our 
Allies, you counter-attacked. The Allied 
Armies gained a brilliant victory that marks 
the turning point of the war. You did more 
than give our Brave Allies the support to 
which as a nation our faith was pledged. You 
proved that our altruism, our pacific spirit, 
our sense of justice, have not blunted our viril- 
ity or our courage. You have shown that 
American initiative and energy are as fit for 
the test of the w^ar as for the pursuits of peace. 



276 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

You have justly won tlie unstinted praise of 
our Allies and the eternal gratitude of our 
countrymen. 

We have paid for our success in the lives of 
many of our brave comrades. We shall cherish 
their memory always, and claim for our his- 
tory and literature their bravery, achievement 
and sacrifice. 

John J. Pershing, 
General, Commander-in-Chief. 



Headquarters, 28th Division, 

American Expeditionary Forces. 

General Orders 7 * ^ onxt, -.a-io 

-j^ ^o \ August 30th, 1918. 

The Division Commander is authorized to 
inform all, from the lowest to the highest, that 
their efforts are known and appreciated. A 
new division, by force of circumstances, took 
its place in the front line in one of the greatest 
battles of the greatest war of history. The 
division has acquitted itself in a creditable 
manner. It has stormed and taken a point 
that was regarded proof against assault. It 
has taken numerous prisoners from a vaunted 
guards division of the enemy. It has inflicted 
on the enemy far more loss than it has suffered 
from him. In a single gas application it in- 
flicted more damage than the enemy inflicted 
on it by gas since its entry into battle. 



APPENDIX 277 

It is desired these facts be brought to the 
attention of all, in order that the tendency of 
new troops to allow their minds to dwell on 
their own losses to the exclusion of what they 
have done to the enemy may be reduced to the 
minimum. 

Let all be good of heart. We have inflicted 
more loss than we have suffered ; we are better 
men individually than our enemies. A little 
more grit, a little more effort, a little more 
determination to keep our enemies down and 
the division will have the right to look upon 
itself as an organization of veterans. 

(Signed) Charles H. Muir, 

Major General. 



Advanced Headquarters, 
First Army Corps. 

October 8, 1918. 
From: Commanding General, 1st Army 

Corps, U. S. 
To: Commanding General, 28th Divi- 

sion. 
Subject : Commendation. 

I desire to express to the 28th Division and 
its commander my appreciation of the splen- 
did work done by the division on October 7, 
1918. 

The capture of Hill 244 and the combined 
advance of the right and left brigades, bring- 



278 OUR SECOND BATTAIJON 

ing about the fall of the very strong positions 
of the enemy on the Chene Tondu and the 
Taille VAblje, demonstrate excellent leader- 
ship and first-class fighting ability. 

The advance in exploitation in front of your 
right brigade resulting from the foregoing 
actions, was a very bold procedure, which ^vdll 
undoubtedly lead to even greater results. 
(Signed) H. Liggett, 
Major General, U. S. A. 



Headquarters, 28th Division, 
American Expeditionary Forces. 

General Orders 1 ^ r\ j. x. o-iin-io 

,^ .^ \ France, October 21, 1918. 

No. 19. 5 ' 

1. The Division Commander desires to ex- 
press his appreciation to all officers and sol- 
diers of the 28th Division and of attached 
units, who, at all times during the advance 
in the valley of the Aire and in the Argonne 
Forest, in spite of many hardships and con- 
stant personal danger, gave their best efforts 
to further the success of the division. 

2. As a result of this operation, which ex- 
tends from 5 :30 on the morning of September 
26th until the night of 8-9 October, with 
almost continuous fighting, the enemy's line 
was forced back more than ten kilometers. In 
spite of most stubborn and at times desperate 
resistance the enemy was driven out of Grand 
Boureuilles; Petite Boureiiilles, Yarennes, 



APPENDIX 279 

Monthlainville^ Apremont, Pleincha^np Farm, 
LaForge and Chat el Chehery, and the strong- 
holds on hills 223, 224 and Lg Chene Tondu 
were captured in the face of strong machine 
gun and artillery fire. 

3. As a "new'' Division on the Vesle, the 
Twenty-eighth was cited in Orders from Gen- 
eral Headquarters for its excellent service, 
and the splendid work just completed assures 
it a place in the very front ranks of the fight- 
ing ^^Red" Divisions. With such a position to 
maintain it is expected that every man will 
devote his he^ efforts to the work at hand — 
to hasten that final vicory which is now so 
near. 

By command of Major General Muir: 
W. C. Sweeney, 

Chief of Staff. 
Official : 

Richard W. Watson, 
Maj or- Ad j utant. 



Headquarters, Second Army. 
American E. F. 
France, 5 November, 1918. 
From : Commanding General, Second Army. 
To: Commanding General, 28th divi- 

sion, A. E. F. 
Subject: Recent activity of 28th Division. 

I desire to inform you of my gratification at 
the vigorous and succesful activities of your 



280 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

division since its entry into line on the front of 
the Second Army. The recent patrols and 
raids have resulted in making No Man's Land 
our land in lowering the morale of the hostile 
units on jour front, as well as inflicting losses 
on them, and capturing a considerable number 
of prisoners. 

Such conduct exemplifies the American 
spirit and cannot fail to create a feeling of 
confidence on the part of our own troops and 
the corresponding depression on the part of 
the enemy. The 28th Division has shown its 
ability to execute promptly the tasks which 
have been given it to perform, and its officers 
and men have exhibited an efficiency and dash 
which are highly commendable. 

(Signed) R. L. Bullard, 
Lieutenant General, U. S. A. 



TELEGRAMS. 

Hqrs. II Army, 1 Nov., 1918. 
Commanding General, 28th Division. 

Congratulate your Division on the way in 
which they are bagging the Boche. It is fine. 

Bullard. 



APPENDIX 281 

Hqrs. II Army, 2 Nov., 1918. 
Commanding General, 28th Division. 

Another big bag of Boehe. I again con- 
gratulate the 28th Division. You surely 
know how to do it. 

Bullard. 



IVth Corps, 2 November, 1918. 
Commanding General, 28th Division. 

Accept for yourself and convey to the 
Offiicers and men of your Division who par- 
ticipated in this morning's raid of the Bois 
Bonseil my appreciation of the excellent re- 
sults obtained. The raid was efficiently 
planned and managed and executed with the 
spirit that wins. 

Muir. 



G. H. Q. 

American Expeditionary Forces. 

General Orders ) ^ -r^ ia -lAio 

AT Qoo c France, Dec. 19, 1918. 

It is with a sense of gratitude for its splendid 
accomplishment which will live through all 
history, that I record in General Orders a 
tribute to the victory of the First Army in the 
Meuse-Argonne battle. 

Tested and strengthened by the reduction of 
St. Miheil salient for more than six weeks you 



282 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

battered against the pivot of the enemy line on 
the western front. It was a position of im- 
posing natural strength, stretching on both 
sides of the Meuse Kiver from the bitterly 
contested hills of Verdun to the almost im- 
penetrable forest of the Argonne; a position, 
moreover, fortfied by four years of labor de- 
signed to render it impregnable; a position 
held with the fullest resources of the enemy. 
That position you broke utterly, and thereby 
hastened the collapse of the enemy's military 
power. 

Soldiers of all Divisions engaged under the 
First, Third and Fifth Corps— the 1st, 2nd, 
3rd, 4th, oth, 7th, 26th, 28th, 29th 32nd, 33rd, 
3i5th, 37th, 42nd, 77th, 79th, 80th, 82nd, 89th, 
90th, and 91st you will be long remembered 
for the stufbborn persistence of your progress, 
your storming of obstinately defended ma- 
chine gun nests, your penetration yard by 
yard, of woods and ravines, your heroic re- 
sistance in the face of counter-attacks sup- 
ported by powerful artillery fire. For more 
than a month, from the initial attack of Sep- 
tember 26th, you fought your way slowly 
through the Argonne, through the woods and 
over hills west of the Meuse; you slowly en- 
larged your hold on the Cotes de Meuse to the 
East and then on the First of November, your 
attack forced the enemy into flight. Pressing 
his retreat, you cleared the entire left bank of 
the Meuse south of Sedan, and then stormed 



APPENDIX 283 

the heights on the right bank and drove him 
into the plain beyond. 

Your achievement, which is scarcely to be 
equalled in American history, must remain a 
source of proud satisfaction to the troops who 
participated in the last campaign of the war. 
The American people will remember it as the 
realization of the hitherto potential strength 
of the American contribution toward the cause 
to which they had sworn allegiance. There 
can be no greater reward for a soldier or for 
a soldier's memory. 

John J. Pershing, 
General, Commander in Chief, 
American Expeditionary Forces. 
Official : 

Robert C. Davis. 

Adjutant General. 



28th Division, 
American Expeditionary Forces. 

France, 4 July, 1918. 
Bulletin : 

1. On the afternoon of July 1st, two 
platoons of the 111th Infantry participated 
with the 153rd French Infantry Regiment in 
the attack on Hill 204. The following letter, 
written by Colonel Matter, commanding the 
153rd French Infantrv, to the Commanding 



284 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

Officer, 111th U. S. Infantry, is published for 
the information of the command: 

^'I have the honor to inform yon that the 
detachment of your regiment which you have 
heen so good as to put at my disposal for the 
attack of July 1st, has shown, in its baptism 
of fire, an admiraJble attitude. 

The detachment was placed with the 2nd 
Battalion of the 153rd, which had as its mis- 
sion the taking of the woods on Hill 204. 

The platoon from Company A operated on 
the eastern edge of the Avoods, the platoon 
from Company B on the western edge. At 
the hour ^'H"' (6:00 P. M.), the assaulting 
troops left the trenches where they had been 
staying in order to allow artillery preparation 
on Hill 204. 

From the beginning of the attack the Ameri- 
can detachments were marked by their ardor, 
bravery, and their enthusiasm. 

In spite of the firing of the enemy^s heavy 
and light machine guns, trench mortars, rifle- 
men placed in trees, these men bravely threw 
themselves on their adversaries. 

A fierce hand-to-hand contest immediately 
took place in the thick and almost impreg- 
nable woods, where each man sought his man. 
The combat was violent, and your men never 
ceased during all the operation to arouse the 
enthusiasm and admiration of their French 
comrades by their magnificent behaviour. 



APPENDIX 285 

Lieut. Shenkel, especially, distinguished 
himself during this combat, making a great 
impression on his own troops and our soldiers. 
Led on by his ardor, with seven men, the Lieu- 
tenant found himself surrounded on all sides. 
This detachment cut its way through by using 
the butts of their rifles and bayonets on the 
enemy's ranks, and suceeded in rejoining 
their comrades; Lieutenant Shenkel himself 
killing, with a pistol shot, a German officer. 

The attitude of all American ranks, es- 
pecially the non-commissioned officers, was 
also noticeable. Of six non-commissioned 
officers participating in the attack, five have 
fallen gloriously killed or wounded. All offi- 
cers, N. C. O's. and privates, were superb in 
their enthusiasm and courage. 

I w^ould appreciate very much if you would 
bring to the knowledge of your regiment, the 
splendid conduct of your men, who fought for 
the first time with us, and let everybody know 
that with such admirable soldiers as yours 
and ours, the defeat of the Germans in the 
near future is certain. 

( Signed ) Matter. '- 

The Commanding General of the 39 th 
French Division adds: 

^^I join wdth all my heart the sentiments of 
admiration Avhich Colonel Matter expresses 
for the valiant troops which have just given 
to ours a splendid example of bravery. I join 



286 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

my salutations and respect to the brave men 
who have fallen on the field of honor, the 
num^ber of which is, unhappily, too great. 

(Signed) Pougin." 

The Division Commander desires to con- 
gratulate the two platoons participating in the 
attack of July 1st, upon the receipt of such 
splendid commendations from the Regimental 
and Division Commanders under whom they 
served. He believes that the action of these 
men is but an example of what the whole 28th 
(Keystone) Division will show when oppor- 
tunity offers. 

By Command of Major General Muir: 

Edw. L. King, 
Colonel, General Staff, 
Chief of Staff. 



Copy of Order that sent ^*Our Second Bat- 
talion" over the top on the morning of July 
24th : 

56th Inf. Brig.— 28th Div. 

24 July, 1918—3 :30 o'clock. 
SECRET. 
Filed Orders | 
No. 10. ) 
1. Information about the Enemy. 
'The enemy has been driven 'back to the line 
Armentieres — Hill JJfl — Rocourt St Martin — 



APPENDIX 287 

V Hermitage — west of Trugny — La Cense a 
Dieu — Chart eves. 

2. Mission. 

The 111th Reg. (less 1 Bn. and M. G. Co.) 
plus 1 Bn. 111th Inf., M. G. Co., 112th and 
109th M. G. Bn. will attack on the 24th of 
July, 1918 at 6 :15 o'clock. 

3. General Disposition for the Attack. 
2 Bns. side by side. 

1 Bn. in reserve. 

In each Bn. in the front line : 
2 Cos. in the front line. 
2 Cos. in reserve. 

In each Company in line : 
2 Platoons in front line. 
2 Platoons in support. 

Each platoon in two waves : 

The first wave will consist of automatic 
rifle teams. 

The second, third and fourth wave will be 
arranged by the Regtl. Comdr. 

Cos. in support in squad columns. 

Bn. in reserve in such formation as Regtl. 
Comdr. may order. 

Distances and intervals will be arranged by 
the Regtl. Comdr. 

M. G. Co. ^dth the Regt. at the disposal of 
Regtl. Comdr. 

M. G. Bn. at the disposition of Brig. 
Comdr. upon the advice of M. G. Bn. Comdr. 



288 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

4. Objectives. 

(a) 1st Objective: Line Epieds-Triigny, 
both incl. 

(b) 2nd Objective: Eastern edge Bois de 
Trugny between the Brig. Boundary Line. 

5. Boundaries. 

On the North: Bezuet, Epieds, Courpoil, 
incl. and point 1000 meters north of Lw Croix 
Rouge Farm. 

Southern Limits: Southern edge of Bois 
de la Station-Trugnpy incl. Northwestern cor- 
ner Etang de Loget. 

6. Parallels of Departure. 

The present eastern line between the brigade 
boundary lines. 

7. Disposition Before the Attack. 

The 3rd Bn. on the right or south of the at- 
tack, facing the general direction northea^. 

The 2nd Bn. on the north or left of the at- 
tack, facing the general direction northeast. 

The 1st Bn. is reserve in Bois de la Station, 

Machine G-un Co. 

Two sections on the left flank for cover 
against La Coutterie Farm. 

One section on the right flank for cover 
against the Bois de Trugny, just west of 
Trugny. 

Machine Gun Bn. at the disposal of the Brig. 
Comdr. 



APPENDIX 289 

8. Frogressiom., 

All watches will be synchronized wdth the 
artillery. 

Kate of march — 50 yards every 2% minutes. 

9. Liaison. 

Liaison Avill be maintained with the 167th 
Division (French) on the left by a liaison 
group consisting of one platoon and two ma- 
chine gun sections; on the right with the 51st 
Brigade with one platoon and one machine gun 
section. 

Additional runners will be detailed to Bn. 
Comdrs. tO' assure liaison to the rear. 

Rockets. 

Barrage — 6 white stars followed by red fire. 

75's, you are short — 3 white stars. 

155^s, you are short — 3 white stars and green 
fire. 

We are here — white fire. 

We want to advance, lengthen range — 
worm. 

Gas — worm plus 6 white stars. 

Telephone and projectors will go forward 
with the battalions. 

Panels will be shown upon request of in- 
fantry aeroplanes. 

Bn. Comdrs. will march with their support 
companies. Upon reaching objective, they will 
establish P. C.'s immediately notifying higher 
authority of their location. 



290 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

10. Equipment. 

(a) Full field equipment will be taken. 
Gas masks will be worn at the "Alert." 

(b) Kations. 

Two days' reserve rations will be carried by 
eiach soldier. 

(c) Arms. 

220 rounds of ammunition per man — 100 in 
belts and two full bandoliers. 

10 Grenades per grenadier (3 0. F. — 7 C. 
F.). 

10 V. B.'s per Tromblon. 

(d) Additional material and tools. 
2 picks and 4 shovels to each squad. 
2 sandbags per man. 

(e) Dumps. 

Ammunition, food, supply and water dumps 
will be established by Regimental Com- 
manders. 

11. Artillery. 

The Brigade will be supported by two regi- 
ments of 75's and one regiment of 155's. 

The attack will be preceded by artillery 
preparation and wall follow with a rolling bar- 
rage. 

12. SI M. M. Owns and Stokes Mortars. 
37 M. M. Guns and Btokes Mortars are 

placed at the disposal of Regtl. Comdrs. 



APPENDIX 291 

13. Organization. 

As soon as the objective is reached, the posi- 
tion will be organized into strong points with 
combat groups. Combat groups will utilize 
the ground to the best advantage in order to 
hold the positions at any cost. Sketch made 
of new lines will be sent to these Headquarters 
immediately after the objective has been 
reached. 

14. Collecting Points for the Wounded. 
Senior Surgeons will establish a collecting 

point for the wounded of each regiment. 

Evacuation of wounded will be arranged by 
Regimental Commanders. 

15. Evacuation of Prisoners. 

Prisoners will be sent from each Bn. to Bn. 
P. C. in present front lines and from there to 
Brigade P. C. 

16. Stragglers, 

Posts Avill be established by Bn. Command- 
ers for the purpose of gathering in stragglers 
and sending them forward. 

17. Messages. 

Messages will be sent through Regtl. Hdqrs. 
to Brigade Hdqrs. 

18. Brigade P. C. at La Oenonerie Farm, 
250 meters north of Bezuet. 

Regimental P. C. with the reserve Bn. 

Weigel, 
Brig. Gen., N. A. 



292 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

Headquarters, 26th Division, 
American Expeditionary Forces, 
France. 
SECRET 24 July, 18, 

Field Orders 



No. 64. ' 20:30 o'clock. 

Maps: Chateau ThieriT. I i^go.OOO. 
Soissons. 3 ' 

1. The 1st Corps is to be pushed forward 
tonight without cessation. The supreme effort 
is to he made to attack and take Sergp not 
later than. 2 o'clock on the morning of July 
25th and push on without delay to the plateau 
beyond. 

2. This effort on the part of the 26th Divi- 
sion with the o6th Brigade and a brigade of the 
42nd Division will be aided by the 167th 
Division and other divisions to the north. 

3. The Sergy Plateau must be reached just 
prior to the break of day. Accomplishment of 
this will permit the Cavalry Corps to pass 
through and effectively break up a retreating 
and hard-pressed enemy. A complete victory 
is at hand. 

4. The 26th Division (less 52nd Brigade) 
and the 56th Brigade will push forward on 
Sergp and the plateau to the east of Sergy. 

5. Axis of the advance : Fresnes, La Motte 
Farm, Sergy. 

6. The Infantry will not cross to the north 
bank of the Owrcq before 24 o'clock. Frontage 



APPENDIX 293 

of attack: Sergy (inclusive), Point 212 (IV^ 
km. to southeast.), inclusive. 

7. The artillery will prepare and execute 
a plan for the artillery attack on Sergy. 

8. Infantry Commanders will keep in close 
liaison with the artillery. 

By command of Major General Edwards. 
Duncan K. Major, Jr., 

Chief of Staff. 



Headquarters, Second Army, 

American Expeditionary Forces. 

Office of Commanding General. 

Toul, France, 2 April, 1919. 
From : Commanding General, 2nd Army. 
To: Commanding General, 28th Di- 

vision. 
Subject : Operations of 28th Division. 

1. Upon the departure of the 28th Division 
from the 2nd Army for return to the United 
States, I desire to express my sincere appre- 
ciation of the work of this division while un- 
der my command. This division has served in 
all of the larger major operations of the final 
year of the war, such as : 

Champagne-Marne Defensive, 15 July-18 
July. 

Aisne-Marne Offensive, 23 July-31 July. 
Fismes Sector, 7 August-17 August. 
Oise-Aisne, 18 August-8 September. 



294 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

Meuse-Argonne^ 26 September-9 October. 

Thiaucourt Sector, 16 October-11 November. 

2. On July 15th, this division assisted in 
stopping the great German drive south of the 
Marne and in the Aisne-Ma/rne offensive, oper- 
ating under French and American corps, 
pushed forw^ard to the Vesle Rivera where at 
Fismes it held a sector for more than a month 
of continuous fighting. During this time, the 
28th Division was operating under my com- 
mand in the III Corps and under my direc- 
tion this division established and held two 
bridgeheads across the Vesle River. During 
this continuous fighting at the Yesle and the 
subsequent advance towards the Aisne this 
Division bore the brunt of the fighting for it 
was in front of this Division that the enemy 
was making its strongest resistance. After 
being relieved from the Vesle on September 
8th, this Division moved into the Argonne 
Forest and with only a few days' rest went 
into the great Meuse- Argonne battle which re- 
sulted in the signing of the Armistice. The 
work of this Division in this offensive is too 
well known for me to recount at length, but 
such names as VareuneSy Argonne Forest, Ap- 
remont, Cliatel Cheherg and Monttlainville 
are w^ritten in history after the name of the 
28th Division. After serving in this great of- 
fensive for thirteen days, this Division was 
relieved and sent to the then quiet Thiaucourt 



APPENDIX 295 

Sector for rest, but, although the Division was 
tired and worn out, its indomitable spirit 
arose and the Thiaucowi't Sector was changed 
from a quiet sector into an active one. 

3. During the many operations in which 
this Division was engaged, many prisoners, 
both officers and men, and much material were 
captured. From the signing of the Armistice, 
during a period of trying waiting, the 28th 
Division's interest has not flagged ; its appear- 
ance, condition, and state of military prepar- 
edness has steadily improved and upon them 
the Commander-in-Chief has congratulated the 
Dirision. The fighting spirit of the 28th Divi- 
sion is shown by its casualty lists which is 
fourth among the divisions of the American 
Expeditionary Forces. This Division has al- 
ways been a combat division in every sense 
of the w^ord and in my belief should be classed 
as an A-1 Shock Division. I desire to extend 
my most sincere congratulations to the officers 
and men of this Division, which has in its op- 
erations exemplified the fighting spirit of the 
American troops. I again extend to you all 
my most sincere congratulations and best 
wishes. 

R. L. BULLARD, 
Lieutenant General, U. S. A. 



296 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

American Expeditionary Forces, 

Office of the Commander-in-Chief, 

Chaumont, March 21, 1919. 

Major General William H. Hay, 
Commanding 28th Division, 
American E. F., France. 

My dear General Hay : 

It gives me a great deal of pleasure to con- 
gratulate you and through you the officers and 
men of your Division on the splendid showing 
made at the inspection and review on March 
10th at Colombey-les-Belles. The appearance 
and equipment of the troops and also the con- 
dition of the animal transport of your Divi- 
sion are to be highly commended. To me this 
is an indication of that same high morale in 
your command which it possessed while in 
the fighting line. 

Arriving in the Spring of 1918 for training 
with the British, the period of instruction of 
the 28th Division was cut short, and by the 
middle of July it was thrown into the active 
battle to take part in the successful Cham- 
pagne-Marne Defensive. For nearly two weeks, 
the infantry brigades operated under French 
and other divisional commanders, taking part 
in the Aisne-Marne offensive as reserve of the 
3rd Division, which was fighting its way North 
from the river. On the 28th, however, the di- 
vision was regrouped under its own comman- 
der and from that time fought as a unit. 



APPENDIX 297 

The 55tli Brigade went into the line, reliev- 
ing the 39th French Divisiion in front of Cier- 
ges and the Bois de Grimpettes where after 
two days' severe fighting the Ourcq River was 
crossed, and town of Cierges was entered. On 
the night of Angust 6th, the Division returned 
to the battle in the Fismes sector along the 
Southern bank of the Vesle River. From this 
time until its relief on the night of September 
7th by a French Division, it was continuiously 
engaged in small local fights, in the course of 
which the river West of Fismes was crossed 
and the town of Fismette was occupied. After 
a short period of resting and refitting, it en- 
tered the great Meuse-Argonne offensive as the 
center division of the First Corps. It attacked 
on the morning of the 26th, and until relieved 
on the night of October 8th, was in continuous 
action, advancing ten and one-half kilometres 
against strong enemy resistance and capturing 
among other towns, those of Varennes and 
Apremont. On October 16th it was again 
placed in the line — ^this time in the Toul Sec- 
tor near Thiaucourt. From this position it 
attacked on November 11th and was advancing 
when hostilities were suspended. 

In view of this record, the officers and men 
of the 28th Division may proudly carry home 
with them the gratitude of the Allies with 
whom they fought and the pride of their fel- 
lows through our Forces. I want them to 



298 OUR SECOND BATTALION 

know of my own apipreciation of the part they 
played in the victories which are to the credit 
of American Arms. 

Sincerely yours, 

JOHN J. PERSHING. 

Copy of order Avhich sent the first company 
of "Our Second Battalion'' to the United 
States. A similar order was issued for the 
the remaining companies to proceed at once 
on board the I^. S. S. Kroonland. 

Services of Supply, 
Headquarters, Embarkation Camp, Base Sec- 
tion No. 1, 
St. Nazaire, France. 

iSpecial Orders | 
No. 105 ] 

* * Extract * * 
Par. 12. The following named units and 
detachments of the 28th Division, with 
strength in officers and enlisted men approxi- 
mately as indicated, having reported to these 
Headquarters for return to the United Statesi, 
in compliance with Troop Movement Order No. 
36, American Embarkation Center, Le Mans, 
dated April 10, 1919, will proceed at once on 
board the U. S. |S. Minnesotan, to the United 
States, reporting on arrival at the Port of De- 
barkation to the Commanding Greneral thereof 
for instruction®, 



APPENDIX 






h Infantry (28th Division) 


. 




Officers. 


Men. 


Field and Staff, 


2 




Headquarters Company, 


4 


329 


Supply Company, 


2 


171 


Sanitary Detachment, 


1 


21 


Company A 


3 


258 


Company B, 


2 


253 


Company C, 


3 


226 


Company D, 


2 


237 


Company E, 


3 


253 



299 



Compliance with this order, after arrival in 
the United States, is subject to such delays 
as may be imposed by the authorities at the 
Port, of Debarkation, in accordance with orders 
from the War Department relative to debark- 
ation, disinfection, quarantine and demobiliza- 
tion. 

The Quartermaster Corps will furnish the 
necessary transportation and subsistence. 

The journey is necessary for the public ser- 
vice. 

By order of Colonel Parsons : 
C. T. STAHLE, 
Major, C. A. C. 
ORH/rcm Administrative Adjutant. 



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